Inspired Nutmeg

Friday Photo

2011-06-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

Watching the tractor.

Lots of change is happening in our busy little corner of the world. We are taking our first trip without the chickadees since, well, since we had our first chickadee. Sweet Babe who will be one year old next week is happily adjusted to a bottle. Her brothers and sisters are contentedly settled at Grandma and Grandpa's farm for the duration and a more delighted group of kiddos couldn't be found. A pool, trampoline, sandbox, rope swings, tree house, horses, cows and a calf, rabbits, kittens, an old farm dog, not to mention a billion legos. What more could a kid want. Throw in two uncles, an aunt and it's almost enough to make a kid cry. Not quite like a mama cried this morning as she drove away from her babies, but who's comparing?

The whopper of a change is coming a week after we return when we move to our first home. Our little rented home has been home in the truest sense for eight years and the time has come to move. I catch myself looking for moments like you see in this photo to remember our life here. Little brother ran out to the fence to watch our neighbor's tractor just like his two big brothers have done all these years. All our kids have grown up here, right across the street from Nana and Papa. My heart catches to think of them growing up anywhere else, even if it's just across town. It won't be the same. I know it will be good but, just so very different. If only we could get Nana and Papa to come with us, now that would be perfect!

Mustard Vinaigrette

2011-06-14T12:44:00.001-07:00

Today's Bennett Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette.

Salad dressing, why in the world should you make your own salad dressing? After all, there are hundreds of varieties of salad dressing to choose at any grocery store. If you have read this little old blog for any length of time, you will be able to guess the first reason I make my own salad dressing. Okay, you may be able to guess the first two reasons; I'm a tightwad and I'm a dork who likes to make all her own food. There are a couple of other very good reasons you might want to get out your blender (or a whisk) and a few items from your pantry and whip up your own dressing.

My sweet sister is struggling with gluten and soy intolerance. These are tough items to avoid nowadays. Once you start looking around you will be amazed at the variety of products that contain wheat and soy. It's in nearly every pre-made and processed food that is available in a regular grocery store. Not too big of a problem if you have access to a good natural foods store and are able to shop there. However, making your own dressing allows you to save time and money and best of all, you can tailor it exactly to your families needs and preferences. Do you want raw vinegar and organic olive oil? Go for it! No garlic? No problem! Sugar instead of honey? Get out that sugar bowl! That is the beauty of making it yourself, you can make it your way!

Mustard Vinaigrette

1/4 cup whole-grain mustard

1/2 cup cider vinegar

2 to 4 small cloves garlic (your preference, I like 4)

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

a few grinds of black pepper

1 cup olive oil or a mix of oil (I use half olive/half peanut)

Measure mustard, vinegar, garlic, honey, salt and pepper into your blender container. Buzz it a few times to mix. I have a covered hole in the center of my blender container lid that I can uncover and pour into, you probably do too. Remove the cover of the hole and slowly pour in the oil while the machine is running. It should emulsify and thicken up immediately. You can't fail with a vinaigrette using this method. Taste your lovely concoction and see if it needs more salt or pepper. When it's just how you like it, pour it into a jar and refrigerate until you need to drizzle it over your lovely salad.

Lookey there! You just made your own salad dressing. Good job!

Friday Photo

2011-06-10T06:46:00.000-07:00

First bonfire of the summer!

Friday Photo

2011-06-03T05:33:00.001-07:00

Magnolia blossom compliments of the world's sweetest six year old boy.

Liz's Almost Naughty Green Beans

2011-05-30T19:13:00.001-07:00

I have a friend named Liz, I just love her. When our youngest sone was born she brought us a lovely dinner. There was chicken parmesan and hot buttered bread, and then there were green beans. Oh my! The next day I called her and asked her how in heaven's name she made those green beans. They were the most fabulous green beans I had ever put in my mouth. If my memory serves me, I ate them for dessert. She laughed and said, "Oh, the naughty green beans?" Come to find out, they contained a stick of real butter and 1/2 cup of brown sugar! No wonder they were divine! I knew I couldn't live without those green beans in my life but I'm kind of stingy with my butter so I tweaked and adjusted to create Liz's Almost Naughty Green Beans. They have undergone further tweaking as I have been slowly removing sugar from our diet, honey makes pretty great green beans too.

Liz's Almost Naughty Green Beans

1 pound frozen green beans (look for long skinny beans, they work the best)

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

Place all ingredient in a large saucepan with a lid and place over medium heat. After the butter and soy sauce are simmering good, reduce heat to low. Cook for about half an hour until the beans are quite tender and the sauce it reduced to a thick glaze. Taste and add salt and pepper if you think it needs it.

You are just going to love this simple side dish. Or of course, you can have it for dessert too!

Friday Photo

2011-05-28T05:50:00.001-07:00

One coconut + one strong husband + a machete = free entertainment for 7 kids and one mama. Who can beat that?

Friday Photo

2011-05-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Just a-swinging.

This week brought cold, cloudy, windy days. All the same, Shortbread had her first experience swinging at the park. To say she was delighted would be an understatement. Squealing, screaming, kicking her chubby legs as fast as she could and laughing a crazy deep belly laugh, she was beyond delighted. I'll never forget swinging her for the first time. How fun to be a baby and get to swing! I hope you have a fun weekend with many new memories.

Friday Photo

2011-05-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

Sweet golden-haired girl.

Friday Photo

2011-05-06T04:54:00.001-07:00

Fog rolling in at dusk.

French Vanilla Apple Crisp

2011-05-01T19:21:00.000-07:00

It was a dark and storm night, only one thing could be done. Bake. Bake is the answer for many of my dilemmas. There's something about assembling ingredients, chopping, stirring and baking until golden brown and bubbly that cure a multitude of ills. You should try it.

So back to last week, when I opened my Frigidaire there were two sad apples leftover from afternoon snack. What can you do with apples with three bites missing? Make them into a crisp. These are the crisps we devoured last week, the baking and eating were mutually enjoyed.

Peel, core and chop up two or three apples. Two if they are large, three if there are bites missing out of some of your apples. Pile them into a mixing bowl and add a couple of tablespoons of sugar, a sprinkling of cinnamon, half a teaspoon of vanilla, a generous tablespoon of heavy cream and a few grains of salt. Mix it up and divide between two buttered baking dishes or one larger dish if you plan to share. As you can see I used my creme brulée pans and they were lovely. We did not share.

In the same bowl you mixed the apples in, mix 3 tablespoons of flour and 3 tablespoons of sugar with 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter until it's crumbly. Stir in 2 tablespoons each of oats and chopped walnuts. Give it a stir and pile it on top of the apples.

After it's piled sufficiently, set them in a 375˚ oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. They should settle some and be golden brown and bubbly.

It's a good idea to set them on a baking sheet to bake unless you like cleaning your oven. I do not like cleaning my oven as anyone who looks in my oven can attest to. Anyway, serve these up to the lucky participants, they would be really lucky if you topped it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Obviously, you can make this in a larger pan and double the recipe. I didn't because I was only making them for two people instead of eight. This wouldn't last three minutes with the horde. Well, actually they didn't last much longer than that as it was. I hope you try these crisps, they were trés beaucoup!

Friday Photo

2011-04-29T05:03:00.001-07:00

A drop of water.

Cold Brewed Coffee

2011-04-26T11:59:00.001-07:00

You know the saying about necessity being the mother of invention? Well, here is a case in point. I guess one could argue that this isn't about necessity and I certainly didn't invent this but I'm excited about it and wanted to share.

Last week was a good week with the exception of one day. I'm sure good things happened but it was one of those days where the not-so-good eclipsed the good for me. The last straw was when I knocked my beloved french press off of the dish drainer. I had already broken a drinking glass that afternoon and shattering my french press resulted in me dissolving into a puddle of tears. Weeping would be a better description. I recovered and my sweet husband cleaned up all the glass. This week is going much better but is sadly devoid of coffee. Coffee is a wonderful thing, the smell is intoxicating, it warms the soul and is an excellent conveyor of cream. Real cream. We don't drink coffee everyday but when the weather is grey and cold (like this week has been) and each day bring a thunderstorm and steady rain (like this week has), I start wanting a good hot cup of fresh coffee.

Yesterday afternoon I remembered a recipe, directions really, for cold brewed coffee made in a glass jar. Unfortunately it takes 10 to 12 hours to brew so it wasn't much help yesterday but today I got crackin and made myself some. I ground enough fresh coffee beans to measure 2/3 of a cup of grounds and mixed that in a quart jar with 3 cups of filtered water. Stirred it up good and set it on the counter to brew. It's hidden behind the vinegar and olive oil since it seemed like something my little darlings would like to explore (read: pour out all over my kitchen floor). In the morning I will be able to strain it and stir a tablespoon or so of the brewed coffee into a mug of hot water and then stir in my cream. I can hardly wait!

The Bennett Salad

2011-04-13T05:05:00.000-07:00

Today I give you The Bennett Salad. What can I say about the Bennetts. Two years ago we met a family and they have been a tremendous blessing to our family. The mother has been an inspiration to me in my homeschool and their intentionality in raising their children has helped shape our direction in raising ours. Their daughters babysit our kids, all six of them at once! In fact, a few weeks ago, when one of their daughters came to babysit she brought her salad with her, three of my kiddos who hadn't eaten the salad I had just served them lined up with plates to eat her salad. She brought a bigger salad the next week to share. We love the Bennetts.

And then there is this salad. Above you can see a Bennett Salad we enjoyed last week. Not the same salad we ate at their lovely home but a version. No recipe for it exists, only the rule of putting any fresh vegetable you have, finely diced on your fresh lettuce. There must be sprouts of some kind and nuts or seeds. Sunflower seeds always adorn their salad but I had eaten all mine so walnuts were the star of this particular salad. I loved the golden raisins on this too.

So check out your fridge, farmer's market, or garden and see what you have to make your own Bennett Salad. Really load it up. Grow some sprouts, it's easy if you have a jar and some seeds. Check out this cool website for sprouting info and even videos. You will feel healthier after the first bite!

The Recipe Box...Finally!

2011-04-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

Nearly everyday a card is added to my recipe collection. This has resulted in a recipe box problem. I've worn out a regular old plastic index card box and have been looking for a replacement ever since. If you know me, you know I couldn't just go to the store and pick up another plastic card box. No, I need something cool and preferably old. Enter this fabulous old storage container. Originally used to store your leftover meatloaf or spaghetti in the Frigidare, this baby was snagged on a flea market spree with my mom this summer. It didn't become home to my recipes until last month when I finally got fed up with trying to find my pita recipe in the tiny box I was keeping everything it. Is it not perfect?

During the move to their new home, I was caught up in the history of so many of my recipes. Nearly every one has memories attached to it, who gave it to me, who I made it for, who loved that particular thing and even who I've passed it on to. History that makes a recipe more than a mixture of butter, sugar and flour, it transforms a list and some directions into a road-map of my life. Being the emotional creature that I am, I found myself sitting at our table crying over my recipes. Funny how a splattered index card can do that to me. I thought I would share some of my favorite recipe-memories with you:

My Mom's Molasses Ginger Cookies. My family has made these cookies every Christmas since who knows when. The rolling/cutting/icing/sprinkles mess is as much a part of Christmas as decorating the tree.

Daily Bread. I have made this bread at least once a week for several years. It's one of the first bread recipes I adapted/made up myself and we love it.

Mrs. Penny's Broccoli Salad, a truly magical salad. Our dear family friend served it to us when I was a teenager and I copied down the recipe that night. I have several recipes from dinners at Mrs. Penny's house.

This is one that got me. My sister's Aunt Clara's Harvest Coffee Cake. We've been making this coffee cake for more years than I can remember and I don't even know where my sister came across it. Last year my sister move out of the country and I miss her so very much. I might just have to bake a coffee cake in honor of her. If only she could drop by for a piece and a good long chat.

So there you have it, some of my favorite recipe-memories. Now I know where to go when I'm feeling nostalgic, straight to my own glass box of history!

Friday Photo

2011-04-01T08:02:00.000-07:00

Sweet Gum tree in the fog.

Yesterday we had a steady cold drizzle of early spring rain. The skies cleared just in time for a beautiful sunset and later in the evening this thick fog rolled in. I love fog, how it softens everything and changes your everyday view into something new and mysterious looking.

Happy weekend to you!

Mama's Cornbread

2011-03-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

Don't you want some cornbread? I thought so. Every southern food book I've ever read (and that has been a few, believe me) shares memories of their mama's cornbread. In the south, cornbread usually means unsweetened cornbread baked in a sizzling hot skillet. Super sweet cornbread baked in a pyrex pan was cake not cornbread. If my Mamaw had set a plate of that down in front of my Papaw he would have thrown it out to his hound dog. No offense to lovers of yankee cornbread but "real" cornbread is a serious thing in the south, impostors could be shot!

My Mama is famous for her cornbread. I love love love it and must have it at least once a week. Her crispy, buttery cornbread is one of the only things I have a deep craving for year round. It goes with everything, beans, soup, salad, butter, anything really. I make it for breakfast sometimes and there is never a crumb left. Now I make two pans of it so everyone can have plenty. Made with fresh ground cornmeal and flour, you can't beat it for a healthy quick bread.

I will now ask my Mama to look aside while I tell you that I have slightly modified her recipe to fit my cooking so it's not her exact recipe. Honey instead of sugar, fewer eggs and less butter. Okay Mama, you can look back. So get out your skillet and let's make a pan (pone as Mamaw used to call it) of cornbread.

The first step is to preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Set your iron skillet in there to heat up too. A hot skillet is the secret to good crusty cornbread. Measure a cup of flour, cup of cornmeal, 1 tablespoon baking powder and a teaspoon of salt into a large bowl. Stir it to mix all your dry ingredients together.

Enlist a handy kid to mix up 1 and 1/4 cup of milk, 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon of honey in a measuring cup or small bowl. If there are no handy kids, just beat it together yourself. All the same and you probably have cleaner hands. I hope so anyway.

When your oven and iron skillet are good and hot, set the skillet out on your stove and melt 2 tablespoons of real butter in it (Don't you like my square pan? It was Grandma's.). Pour the wet mixture into the dry and give it a few stirs, then pour the melted butter quickly into the batter. Stir it up to mix the butter in. Be sure to not burn yourself with the skillet, it's super hot! Pour the batter into the skillet.

Can you see what's happening? Look at the edge of the skillet and see how the batter is foaming up. It is searing in the hot skillet and that is what gives you the magical golden crust. Bake it for 20 minutes in your hot oven and then flip it out onto a big platter. Flipping it out of the pan is a bit of a trick, I still catch myself holding my breath every time I turn do it. Just have faith and go for it.

Then all that's left is to cut it up and serve wedges or squares of hot golden goodness to all the lucky people sitting around your table. You'll be glad you did.

Chocolatey Honey Fudge

2011-03-28T11:19:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I posted a recipe, I've been cooking, believe me there's no getting around cooking at our cozy little house. What I haven't been doing is taking photographs or having a spare ounce of energy to post a recipe. We have had various illnesses going around, croup, ear infections, colds, strep throat, yikes! Once someone picks up a bug it takes a while to work through all six chickadees. This has resulted in one tired mama and a serious need for chocolate. Not serious enough to get me to pack up everyone and go buy some, my sweet husband treated me to a luscious chocolate bar when he was picking up medicine, but enough of a craving to hunt up a new fudge recipe on allrecipes.com (three cheers for allrecipes.com).

Another development has been a gradual elimination of refined sugar in our diet. Gulp...did I just type that? Moi, lover of brown sugar in my oatmeal and a thick crust of cinnamony-sugar on my toast? We have almost entirely converted to raw honey and grade B maple syrup. Both are perfectly delicious and I have had good results using them in some of my favorite recipes. Fudge however is one of those things that needs sugar to set up properly. Cooked fudge that is.

This fudge needs neither cooking or sugar and let me tell you, it's fabulous! Check out this recipe: Stir together one cup of room temperature coconut oil, one cup of regular cocoa and one half cup of raw honey. When it is smooth, pour it into a foil lined pan and chill for an hour or two. Cut it into small squares, (it's very rich) and enjoy. Did you miss the part about candy thermometers? Boiling? Beating? Oh yeah, it's not in there! Just measure, mix and chill.

We are halfway through a batch and it's going fast. Next time I may mix in some chopped pecan and some dried cherries like my mom does in her famous Chocolate Fudge. Really anything you like in your fudge would be amazing in this, cashews, walnuts, dried cranberries and macadamia nuts, a spoonful of peanut butter, a drizzle of white chocolate. Just use your imagination! Oh, and send me some. Please?

Spring?

2011-03-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

We went for a hike this weekend, a blissful two mile hike around a lake near our house. It was the little ones first hike and I think it was duly enjoyed by them.

Along the way we found several different kinds of wildflowers.

Brave little things to venture out so soon in the year, it's only March.

But then, our March is proving to be quite warm. A balmy 73 degrees and I can't say that I'm complaining about it. Yeah for spring!

Friday Photo

2011-03-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

Baby feet. Almost nine-month old baby feet. Look at those chubby toes and plump little legs. Her thighs are even more glorious. Sweet Babe is adored by one and all at our house. Her every feat is greeted with cheers, smiles, applause, hugs and kisses. What fun to have five big siblings to make over you and love on you every waking moment and some sleeping moments. Now that she is on the move we keep finding strange little messes. Leaves pulled of a houseplant, potting soil scattered on the carpet, paper dumped out of the schoolroom trashcan, a book cover suspiciously wet, a little trail of exploration. It makes this tired Mama smile as she sweeps up the dirt and picks up old drawings with "tasted" corners, thinking of her discovering her home in all it's wonder. From down there everything looks big and amazing. Happy exploring to you this weekend!

Friday Photo

2011-03-11T04:44:00.000-08:00

Busyness and general daily chaos had seriously side-railed any creative energy around here lately. Sick chickadees and sick mama, long school days, starting a big reading project and the everyday routine of cooking, cleaning and laundry sapped any idea of sewing or creating. Enter a fun new blog called Stitch Rabbit and my brain is reeling with inspiration and ideas. Yesterday, produced two new headbands for myself and a finished dress with matching headband for Big Sister. On queue for today is a bag for moi and maybe some pillow covers. I love making things! What are you making?

Pantry Cooking: Mirepoix

2011-03-09T04:52:00.000-08:00

Mirepoix. Now doesn't that sound fancy? The word is fancy, French always sounds elegant. I have an enduring obsession with all things French so I'm always happy when I cook a recipe with a mirepoix. And what you see in this photo is exactly that. Fancy isn't it?

A mirepoix is a mixture of chopped vegetables that you saute for a sauce. It always includes onion, carrot and celery. Of course, you can add other things like garlic and bell pepper, even a jalapeno pepper for a Mexican dish. This particular mirepoix was destined for a luscious Bolognese sauce, great made with beef or mushrooms. I used to make a killer meat loaf that included this combination of vegetables plus a bell pepper. Countless soups have this for a base and it is fabulous added to a pot of beans when they are almost done. Just try adding a mirepoix into a dish for your supper and see if you don't love it too!

Friday Photo

2011-03-03T19:36:00.001-08:00

My Mamaw was a lover of figurines. Porcelain, blown-glass, wooden, all kinds, shapes and sizes filled her bookshelves and window sills. They adorned her dresser and mantel. They overflowed to her greenhouse and the building we called the pump house though it didn't contain any pump I ever knew of. When she passed away I chose from her collection this small china angel that I always played with as a child. I love that it has her name, June, on it. This week it took a spill and the tip of her wing broke off. As I was inspecting the wing I noticed it had been glued in that same spot years ago by my Mamaw. It made me smile to think of her carefully repairing the little angel and gently setting her back in her spot after the glue dried. Maybe Papaw with his years of jewelry repair helped her fit it back together just so. He had a knack for fixing delicate things. So the sweet angel sits on my kitchen window sill patiently waiting for me to dig out my glue and re-attach her wing then gently set her back in her spot. I miss my Mamaw.

Friday Photo

2011-02-25T05:58:00.001-08:00

Wednesday was spent entertaining our mystery guest. She was wandering around that morning looking for a friend and the kids were all happy to oblige her. A gentler more child-friendly dog would be hard to find. The next morning, she was gone. Hopefully back to her home. I do wish she would bring back Little Brother's shoe that was left outside. Oh well, I guess a shoe is a small price to pay for a day of blissful dog love. Happy weekend!

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

2011-02-23T12:34:00.000-08:00

Need I say more? Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies with Maple Buttercream. If you had come to my house around 4:00 in the afternoon on Valentine's Day you would have been offered one of these delights. It may have been decorated by one of the eleven children who were busily decorating cookies, which would have made them all the sweeter. These were the Valentine cookies that almost weren't though.

I made up a few trays of the cookies (heart shaped sandwich cookies with raspberry filling) for a dear friend's birthday that morning and noticed the sound of someone playing with the rolling pin. Well, that afternoon when I was ready to bake the rest of the cookies, the rolling pin was no where to be found. We searched high and low and ended up borrowing one from our neighbors. The next morning while making our bed, my foot hit something under the bed and there it was. Now why didn't I think to look under my bed?

So here is the recipe for these fabulous, search-no-more, make them every holiday cookie. The cream cheese makes them ultra rich, the sugar (try raw sugar in these) is just right, not overpowering and they rolled out like a dream. I adapted the recipe from one on allrecipes.com. They will be regular guests at all our holidays and any other occasion that may need cookies. What occasion wouldn't need cookies anyway?

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

2 cups sugar

2 cups butter

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

4 1/2 cups flour

Bring the butter and cream cheese to room temperature. Cream the sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, vanilla and egg. Stir in flour and mix well. Divide into two parts and flatten into disks. Wrap in waxed paper and chill overnight.

Cut one disc in half and work with one piece at a time. Rewrap the other piece and set it back in the fridge. Roll one piece of dough out on a floured surface to about 1/8 of an inch thick and cut out with a cookie cutter. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 8 to 10 minutes or until they are golden around the edges. Cool before frosting.

This makes a lot of cookies but you can always freeze one of the discs of dough for another time. With my horde I need a lot of cookies so I baked them all. I also ate an inordinate amount of them. They are evil and destroyed the last vestiges of my self-control.

To make Maple Buttercream, use any good buttercream recipe (use real butter please!) and add maple flavoring instead of vanilla. You wouldn't want to use as much maple as vanilla so add a little and taste to see if you need more. Try not to eat all the frosting. Pipe it on your cookies with a cute decorating tip or use it to frost a cake. You'll be glad you did!

Friday Photo

2011-02-17T20:39:00.000-08:00

And we're off! Little Sweet Nutkins is officially mobile now. She skipped the army-crawling stage and is slowly but surely crawling around, I suspect looking for something to eat. Lucky her to have five messy sibling who constantly drop crumbs everywhere. Now if she could just get her mama to quit vacuuming it up! Have a fun weekend and I hope you have lots of good things to eat too!

The Practical Pantry: Stocking Your Pantry

2011-02-14T05:32:00.000-08:00

Bulk spices.

(I have changed the name of my pantry series to The Practical Pantry)

Where in the world are you supposed to find the food you are going to store? Good question, if only there was a simple answer. It's not really all that complex, there just isn't one perfect source. My food storage comes from a variety of places, some local and some not.

The first factor is considering what you eat, use your list to decide what to shop for. I try to stock foods in the most natural whole state. That means that I have buckets of wheat, bags of different kinds of rice, dry beans and staple ingredients like sugar and cocoa. For you that may mean storing flour, cans of tuna, and cake mixes. You need to store what you eat and eat what you store. One reason I store things in their whole state is that they last so much longer. Wheat berries will last forever, white flour for a couple of years and wheat flour for a few months. To use wheat though, you have to have a grinder so there are factors to storing whole food. Whatever works for you is the best for your family.

Most of my bulk food comes from a co-op called Country Life Natural Foods. You can mail order from them or get a group together to order. They will deliver to you if you have an order over a certain amount. I order every other month with a group in our area and just go to the drop-off to pick up my goodies. It is worth the effort to organize a group if you have several like-minded friends who would want to order every month. Another advantage is that you can split large amounts and save even more money. We are splitting 50 pounds of whole almonds this time. It's a significant savings over buying 5 pounds and everyone can buy the amount they want. Country Life also sells 5 and 1 gallon buckets and the Gamma Seal Lids.

My spices come from a local natural foods store that has a bulk spice section. Check around to see if you can buy bulk spices in your area. It is a great way to try a variety of spices at a super low price and you can buy as much as you need.

I buy my wheat from a local bakery that grinds their flour fresh every day and will sell you a 50 pound bag of wheat. Check with your local bakeries and see if they will sell you flour or wheat at a wholesale price. Our natural food store will order bulk for you when they place their orders and this would be a great option, especially if you have special diet needs like gluten-free or some other food allergy.

Some things I stock from a regular grocery store. Look for sales or coupons and buy enough to keep you until the next sale or longer. I found pasta we like for half price and bought everything they had on the shelf. If you eat a jar of applesauce every week and they are on sale for a dollar, don't buy 2 jars, buy 12 or as many as the store will let you. Sales usually follow a 2 or 3 month cycle so buy as much as you need to get you through to the next sale.

Most of these strategies require an initial chunk of money that may strain your grocery budget at first but will eventually make a huge difference in your budget. Several years ago I didn't have 20 extra dollars to buy 50 pounds of wheat but by cutting back on things like convenience foods, meat and dairy I was able rearrange things so that I could buy it. Now instead of buying a bag of wheat flour every week at the grocery store, I open my bucket and get out wheat to grind. It's not so much having extra money to build a pantry as it is making small changes to get to where you want to be. Believe me, having food stored away to feed my family is well worth any small sacrifices I made to make it happen!

Friday Photo

2011-02-11T07:06:00.001-08:00

We had some snow here this week folks, and I do mean snow. About two feet of it! My husband and I never have seen snow like this in our area and both of us grew up around here. This is our kiddos buried "yellow-top car". They luckily didn't park it in it's spot so it became our snow gauge. These cars were introduced after I was too big to play in one and I've always held a grudge against the manufacturer. Why oh why couldn't they have come up with it a few years earlier? It looks like such a fun toy. Apparently they are irresistible, my little sister got stuck in it when she was, well I won't say how old she was but it was past the recommended age of the little car.

Snow brings so much fun for little kids and they have been building and sledding and drinking hot cocoa. We had a snow-bound dinner with our neighbors and yesterday I baked some yummy oatmeal bread. I wish I had a knitting project to work on but I've been reading and drawing instead. Fun times indeed. It's kind of hard to believe that in three short months everything will be turning green and we will be planting our garden. Spring is under all that snow!

Lately...

2011-02-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

Lately we have been having snow and snow and more snow. Quite a bit of snow for our little corner of the world. I am a snow spectator, it's my belief that snow is lovelier when viewed through glass. But on Saturday the kids and I bundled up and did some fort building. The boys needed lots of "ammunition" shelves for the "ambush" they were planning for their dad when he came back from work. They are into military stuff right now in case you were wondering.

Here we usually get ice before any snow starts falling and this time was no exception. A good half inch of ice coated everything under the four inches of snow. The beautiful thing about it for me was that I didn't need a single thing from the store! We had been shopping a few days before so we had some fresh things but even without that we were prepared. I had plenty of food, batteries, candles, water, even a huge bar of chocolate with hazelnuts that our sweet neighbors brought us from their trip to Europe! What more could you want?

So we have been snowed-in. Keeping up with school and housework and doing a bit of reading. Reading with six chickadees underfoot really tests your comprehension but I am one determined woman. My little old blog has been a bit neglected of late but that how things go. More and then less, finding the ever changing balance.

We are having soup for dinner with Red Lobster biscuits. I'm washing the perpetual laundry. The big brothers are confined to their room to save the living room furniture, not to mention my sanity, from their roughhousing and now sweet babe is ready to be nursed. Fullness and plenty that is what I have lately. What is at your house lately? I love hearing snippets of your lives, so tell me about it! And check out the blog list for links to some of my new favorite blogs, I think you'll like them.

Friday Photo

2011-02-04T06:06:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a family party for Cubbie. What a fun age this two year old boy is at! He was quite delighted with his firetruck cake. His fascination with big trucks is in full swing, the weekly visit of the trash truck is so very exciting. I do believe the trash truck is second only to his Papaw and his truck. At our house we have three birthday traditions; the birthday person gets to choose the theme of their cake, then help decorate it and everyone tells what special thing they love about the celebrated one. Simple, fun and sweet. Cubbie "listened" to everyone's favorite things about him while merrily eating all the frosting off his slice of cake before turning to my piece to eat my frosting. Sorry Bud, Mama doesn't share vanilla buttercream with anyone! Birthday or no birthday!

Pantry Cooking: Hot Fudge Sauce

2011-01-31T05:15:00.000-08:00

Looks yummy, doesn't it? Who wouldn't enjoy a nice hot fudge sundae with pecans sprinkled on top? A well-stocked pantry lend itself to cooking from scratch. Cooking from scratch doesn't mean complicated recipes that take hours to prepare. This Hot Fudge Sauce takes less than fifteen minutes to whip up and beats the dickens out of any store-bought fudge sauce you've ever eaten. In fact, once a spoonful of this luscious sauce passes your lips you will never be content with anything else. So, grab some cocoa and sugar from your nice pantry and let's make some Hot Fudge Sauce!

Measure 9 tablespoons of cocoa, 1/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup water into a saucepan. Watch, stirring occasionally until the butter is melted. Stir in 1 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons corn syrup (If you don't use corn syrup, add 1/4 cup brown sugar instead.) and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring this to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cook at a gentle boil for 8 minutes. Cool slightly before pouring over your ice cream. At least blow on the spoonful before you put it in your mouth. You don't want a scorched tongue!

That's it! A word about the corn syrup. It will make the sauce glossier and a bit sweeter than the brown sugar but I've made it either way and let me tell you, it's divine. See, from a few staple ingredients that are in your pantry you can make something that will make a grown man cry. Believe me, I seen this happen more than once!

Friday Photo

2011-01-28T05:35:00.000-08:00

Grandma Helen's cake keeper. One of my favorite things. It was always used to hold the famous 1-2-3-4 Cake, but this time it held a Coconut Pineapple Cake. Yummy! I hope your weekend holds sweet things for you!

The Practical Pantry: Containers

2011-01-25T18:46:00.000-08:00

Ground flaxseed, whole-grain cream of wheat, Tapioca and white popcorn in Mason jars.

Close your eyes and imagine you are sitting in a high school algebra class in a small town in Oklahoma. Come on, you can do it! I know, it makes me break out in hives too. So you are sitting there with all your illustrious classmates and your slight, white-haired teacher says in his nasally voice, "BE resourceful!". You've all been waiting for Mr. K's mantra, you've heard it at least once a day since the semester began. Muffled giggles ripple throughout the room as you exchanged glances with your best friend sitting across the aisle.

Fast forward more years than you care to count and you find yourself as a youngish mother in the midst of the daily chaos that is your life. As you pour popcorn from a five pound bag into a washed out applesauce jar and place it on your pantry shelf, that old admonishment echoes out of the recesses of your memory. "BE resourceful!" Snapping the lid down on a recycled ice cream bucket freshly filled with oatmeal, you hear it again, "BE resourceful!". You pause to reflect on how funny Mr. K would find it that the one thing that has stuck with you out of your high school math class was his pet phrase, "BE resourceful!" (It's important that the emphasis is on the BE part. Draw it out a little bit to get the right effect.)

And that, my friends is the top priority when you are looking for containers for your food-storage. Be resourceful. For small amounts of things, Mason jars, pasta sauce jars or other large jars like the applesauce jar in the top photograph work great. I keep lots of thing in this size of jar. Also, I keep my eyes peeled for any size of glass jar with air-tight lids when I am perusing at thrift shops, flea markets and garage sales. One summer I picked up three or four half-gallon size clamp top jars in one day at garage sales. I regularly find the smaller pint-size clamp top jar at thrift shops. When I see one, I scoop it up. They are great for storing specialty grains or beans that you might not need a ton of. Besides, they look pretty.

Gallon size jars are perfect for storing dry beans and pasta in. The main advantage is that you can easily see what is what and how much you have. Someone gave me a gallon size glass pickle jar. The problem with these is the pickle smell in the lid. Fix this by making a paste of baking soda and water and spreading it on good and thick, then leave it overnight. In the morning, rinse it off and the smell will be gone. Get the word out to friends and relations that you need gallon size jars and you might be surprised at how easily you can round some up.

Now a little word about this photograph. I buy lots of thing in bulk either from a co-op or from our local natural food store. The problem I ran into was that a lot of things like Tapioca have the recipe printed on the box and when there's no box, there's no recipe. After a failed internet search to find the sacred recipe, I realized that I could, "Be resourceful", and tape the recipe onto the jar or lid. This trick is great with any grain or homemade mix that has special instructions.

And this thing of beauty is a Gamma Seal Lid for five gallon buckets. Every time I spin it off of my gigantic bucket of wheat to grind some fresh flour, I have a little moment of remembrance for the olden days when I had to pry the lid off with my delicate fingers and resist the urge to say a potty word. If you are going to use five gallon buckets, get one of these lids! They cost anywhere from six to eight dollars but, Honey, you are worth it!

So, there you have it. My riveting thoughts on containers. Be patient and find some free containers or reuse some of your jars. Look on Freecycle. Ask your friends. Pester your family. Do what it takes to find free food-storage containers. But whatever you do, "BE resourceful!". It would make Mr. K so proud!

Pantry Cooking: Greek Pasta

2011-01-23T19:21:00.000-08:00

Greek Pasta with Lemon and Feta

Once you are rolling on building your pantry, you might wonder what you can make with some of the items or if you will be stuck eating the same old things all the time. The good news is that with a little bit of creativity there is no limit to what you can cook up in your kitchen. Last Friday I was inspired by this recipe for Greek Chicken Pasta over at allrecipes.com (I tried to link it but couldn't get it to work. If you want the recipe just type in the recipe name at the website.) and decided to adapt it to use what I had. In my pantry I had lots of pasta, a case of canned diced tomatoes, a can of black olives, an onion and garlic. I'll never be caught without fresh garlic, there is no substitute. My fresh ingredients were the feta and lemon. We are eating 90% vegetarian so I left out the chicken and we never missed it. So we had the lovely pasta dish you see above for our family dinner. It was quick, easy and delicious. I'm excited to show you more of what I cook from my pantry and would love to hear what you are cooking from yours. If you have a blog you can show us what you are whipping up, just add a link to your comment. Happy eating!

Friday Photo

2011-01-21T06:01:00.000-08:00

Sweet Gum trees. We have two of them in our front yard. Fabulous shade in the summer and gorgeous colors in the fall. Now, in the dead of winter there are piles of the gumballs everywhere. The day after a blustery day there will be gumballs covering the yard and street. I kind of like them. But then, I don't have to rake them up. That would be a different story!

The Practical Pantry: How much?

2011-01-18T12:56:00.001-08:00

Food Storage Calculator and Inventory Sheet

Goals are pretty common this time of year and I have been fleshing out a goal of mine that has been floating around my head for a while now. In the time since I started keeping a pantry I have wanted to have several months of food for our family stored. The planning of this is what has always stumped me. How in the world do you know how much food your family would need for six months? Because of this, my focus has been on storing a few of our favorite things or a particular item we use a lot. Diced tomatoes are purchased by the case. Wheat comes in fifty pound bags. Every summer I can two bushels of peaches and all the tomatoes our neighbors can't use. I can several kinds of pickles, sweet pickles for potato salad and kosher dill pickles for eating with burgers or sandwiches. Just so you know, they are killer dill pickles. But this has been the extent of our bulk storage.

That is until recently when I discovered Food Storage Calculators online. My favorite is from this food storage blog. They created an Excel document that allows you to enter in the number of people in your family and the number of months you want it to calculate and it gives you amounts you need to purchase based on the recommendations for the average adult and child. It is customizable as far as the items to enter, for example, it listed shortening and I don't use shortening so I changed that to butter. I switched powdered eggs for ground flaxseed and dry soy beans for adzuki beans (Just tried them and we love them. They cook in the same amount of time as brown rice!). You can also adjust the amounts you want. We don't drink a ton of milk so I dropped the amount for powdered milk down. I added on canned fruit, applesauce, cocoa, raisins, nuts, coffee beans and tea.

You can print this list as an inventory of your pantry and also use it to help you decide what to purchase next. It can be pretty intimidating but taking it in steps and finding good sources of bulk foods will make it much easier. I am working toward a six month supply of food for our family so numbers like 400 pounds of wheat, 137 pounds of rice, 6 gallons of oil and 110 pounds of sugar are a bit overwhelming. At the same time it gives me a concrete idea of what to aim for. You may be considering two weeks worth of food or one month's worth. It is recommended that we all keep three weeks worth of food for our families. Well, just plug your numbers into the spreadsheet and let it do the math for you. Try to think of everything you use to feed your family and add that to the list. Whenever you purchase something, plug that amount in and it will tell you how much more you need to buy to meet your total need for that item. It's pretty awesome! At least for a food nerd like me it is.

The Practical Pantry: What?

2011-01-14T11:34:00.001-08:00

Hard red wheat.

What's for dinner? How many times have you heard that? And that question, my friend, is exactly what you want to ask yourself as you begin to stock your newly-found and/or organized pantry.

The next step in the process is to take a good look at what you and your family eat. What your favorite meals are, what are your comfort foods, what is your fall-back meal when you have one of those days where food is the last thing on your mind.

You may want to write down some ideas. Make a list of your top five breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks and desserts. Dessert is very important to me, by the way. I made up a list of our favorite meals, and not just the main dish, the complete meal. That meal list is the basis for my menus. It helps us not get in a rut and helps me control my urge to cook new recipes all the time. It's a problem folks, new recipe addiction.

After you work up a list of what you like to cook and your family likes to eat, think through each recipe and see what parts of it are non-perishable items that you could stock up on. Are there acceptable substitutions you could make for some of the perishable ingredients that could be part of your food storage pantry. Say, dry milk for fresh milk in your famous Saturday morning pancakes. These ingredients should be the start of your food storage. You want to store what you eat and also eat what you store.

It's very important that you invest your money in things you know you will use. Buying five pounds of garbanzo beans isn't a good plan if nobody in your family can tolerate them. In a time of stress or crisis when you could be relying heavily on your food storage, you would need food that is familiar and comforting to your family. During a crisis is also not a good time for you to try to figure out the best ways to cook millet.

Another easy way to figure out what you should be stocking up on is to think about what you run out of the most. I am constantly running out of flour. As you can see in the photo, I buy wheat to grind but I still use a lot of unbleached white flour. So instead of buying one bag when I go to the store, I pick up two bags. Every time I go to the store I'll buy two bags until I have the amount I need. Then whenever I open a bag, I know to buy a replacement bag the next time I'm at the store. Now, this isn't the ideal way to go about it. I'm sure it would be cheaper per pound to find a bulk source of flour I like and buy that way but it's a trial and error, baby-step kind of process.

So, put on your thinking cap and sit down with some paper and a pen and start on a strategy for beginning your pantry. Remember to focus on familiar foods. If you want to try something new, buy a small amount to experiment with and see if you want to incorporate that item into your meals and pantry. Like I said, it can be a slow process but each time you can add a bag of beans or an extra jar of applesauce to your pantry you'll find that the satisfaction of having food stored in your cupboard is well worth all the time and effort.

Friday Photo

2011-01-14T05:29:00.001-08:00

My favorite bouquet, fresh Italian parsley. One bundle of fresh parsley from the local grocery store resides on my kitchen windowsill, brightening up a gray winter landscape. Later a handful of the same parsley brightens up a bubbling dish of scalloped potatoes at our dinner table. You can't beat that with a bouquet of roses, can you?

The Practical Pantry : Where?

2011-01-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

Dill pickles, sweet lime pickles and pickled jalapenos in my pantry.

"Where in the world would I put all that food?" There you have it, the burning question of anyone who is contemplating building a food storage pantry. You may be lucky enough to have a space just for a pantry in your home. If you're like most people, that is not the case. A significant pantry is still doable for you, you just have to get creative.

If you have a designated pantry space, for me it's a small closet off of my kitchen and laundry area, you just have to clean it out (easier said than done for me) and get it organized. A friend of mine with a very large family, has a room of her home that she set up for a pantry. It's bigger than my bedroom, perfect for her family. When her husband suffered a life altering illness and was no longer able to work she fed and still feeds her family of 10 children plus 4 grown children who visit often with their spouses and kids, from her food storage. Her years of diligence blessed their family in a tough time. Amidst all the unknowns, they knew they could eat.

I have a small space but following my friend's advice, I pulled all of my food out of my kitchen and organized it in my pantry. The only food items in the kitchen are baking supplies. This idea seemed strange to me at first but has streamlined my cooking by making all my bowls and utensils easy to reach, also I can see at a glance what I have on my pantry shelves. If this is a possibility for you, get all the food but your baking supplies in your pantry space. You'll love it!

Now, for many people this isn't an option. Rarely are new homes built with any space for storing food. Our current home is the first one I have had that has a separate space. In fact, this series was inspired by my sister and her kitchen situation. Her family is working to build up a good supply of food and they quickly ran out of cabinets. My handy brother-in-law put up shelving around the kitchen and they are using that but it is a challenge to keep organized. That got me to thinking about food storage when you don't have the storage.

One option is to use one section of your kitchen for dishes, mixing bowls, pot and pans, etc. and another section for food. By keeping it in a designated chunk of space or cabinets you can see what you have and what you need to stock up on. Another option is to look around your house and see what space could be better used for storing food. A quote I love is from Amy Dacycyzn, "Would you rent the space under your bed for $50 a month?". Under my bed I have shoes, my husband's antique shotgun he inherited from his grandfather, various toys my kids dropped down there and carnivorous dust bunnies. I could fit a lot of food under my bed. And we have two bunk beds and two cribs in our house too. You could fit some food under all those beds. A hall closet? A linen closet perhaps? There are probably lots of possibilities in your house that you never thought of.

The only caveat is that the pantry space be a consistent temperature. Food should be stored in a dry ventilated place where there isn't a big temperature fluctuation. Unfortunately this rules out the garage. So the challenge is to look around your home and scout out all the places that could be converted to food storage. You will be surprised at the space you can find to store that case of canned tomatoes or 25 pound bag of sugar or in my case, the 10 pound bag of chocolate chips. Not under the bunk beds, that's for sure!

The Practical Pantry: Why?

2011-01-10T05:25:00.000-08:00

Before you get started on a pantry it's a good idea to think about your motivation for building a food storage pantry. For me the top two reasons are healthier eating that fits our budget and security during a crisis. Over the past year we have transitioned to all whole grains and a primarily vegetarian diet. With a family of eight this translates to a lot of wheat, rice and beans. Lots of beans. The crisis aspect became crystal clear two years ago when I was one week away from delivering my fifth baby. Our area experienced a devastating ice storm. We were without electricity for a week, some were without power much longer. This really got me to thinking about how we would have fed ourselves during this crisis if we had not been able to get to a place with electricity. Pretty solemn thought.

There are some other benefits to having a pantry that I certainly have enjoyed, one being the savings of buying our staple foods by bulk. You can see significant savings when you compare the per pound price of oatmeal at the grocery store to buying a 25 pound bag from a co-op. Another benefit is fewer trips to the store. Believe me, those cupboards have to be really bare to get me to haul everyone to the store. Now I can just go to the pantry and decide what I want to make. It may not be what I was craving or what I had planned but it's always filling and delicious. And for me, knowing that I am feeding my family the best quality of food at a much better price makes that steaming bowl of stew and bread made from fresh ground wheat even yummier.

An important thing to understand is that building a pantry is not about fear and it is not hoarding. I'm sure many of you know someone who prepared for the worst for Y2K. In fact I just used up the last of my parents soft wheat they stored for Y2K. The good news is that 12 years after they purchased it, it was still good. Properly stored food can last a long time. Many people at that time were motivated by extreme fear. You should be motivated by a desire to best feed your family and meet your budget goals.

Proverbs 21:20 says, "In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but the foolish man devours all he has." So even Solomon agreed that there is wisdom in storing food for your family to use. For me it would be hoarding if I was buying up large amounts of food when there was a general shortage. In fact that is one definition of hoarding, amassing and hiding a supply of something in a time of scarcity. However, in a time of plenty, it is common sense to plan for your family and others you may be with if there was a crisis. Crisis can come in may guises. Personal crisis such as a job loss or illness could have you relying on your food storage or any other crisis personal or more widespread. Again, you can't operate in fear, but use wisdom. Joseph in Egypt is a great example of this.

Now that some of the whys are covered and you have thought about reasons to start your own pantry we can get to the planning of it. This is going to be fun!

Friday Photo

2011-01-07T05:42:00.001-08:00

Nesting bowls, how I love thee, let me count the ways. This complete set of vintage Pyrex was a Christmas gift from my older sister and youngest brother. Do they know me or what? I've been using them everyday and I'm not sure I'll find a place in my cabinets for them. It's much easier to grab one and mix up a batch of cornbread if they are out on the counter. And they do look striking in the afternoon sun. Don't you think?

The first installment of the Pantry Primer will be up bright and early Monday morning. I'm excited!

The Practical Pantry

2011-01-04T12:10:00.000-08:00

The Pantry Primer. This idea has been in the planning stages for several months and now seems the perfect time to start a series of posts on building, maintaining and cooking from a pantry. A pantry has always been a feature of my kitchen whether it has been a few cabinets or the small closet off my kitchen that I have in our current home. I've always canned food from our garden and many years that has been the extent of my pantry. In the past few years I have been employing a strategy, a loose one but a strategy none the less, to build up and maintain a significant food storage pantry. Over the next few weeks I'll write about why our family is building up a pantry, how we are doing it and what we are doing with the food now that it's in there. Also, I want to show how you can have a pantry even if you have limited space. Join me and see if you want to have a pantry of your own. I think you will!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

2010-12-22T11:21:00.001-08:00

Here is an ornament from our oldest son's second Christmas. His theme is snowmen and this has always been a favorite given that it is made from a jingle bell. Around here, anything that makes noise is a favorite. I hope you've been enjoying seeing some of Christmas at our house, only a few more days until Christmas now. I'm off to sew, almost done with a dress-up dress!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

2010-12-20T06:09:00.001-08:00

Candy making has been a part of Christmas in my family since the very beginning. Pecan Pralines and my mom's Chocolate Fudge are just about as important as the Christmas tree. Every year I try out a few new recipes, so far I have whipped up Nutella Fudge, Peppermint Bark and Peanut Butter Bars. I highly recommend them all.

When I was young, we were always at my Mamaw's house. They had some dear friends named Mr. Dick and Mrs. Norma. Among other talents like quilting and sewing and training award winning bird dogs, they were unbelievable candy makers. For the 55 years of their marriage, they made at least a dozen kinds of homemade candies together every Christmas. Their Peanut Butter Balls were known throughout the land, legendary I tell you. So whenever I stir up a batch of Pecan Pralines like I did last week, I always think of Mrs. Norma and Mr. Dick. Then I eat an extra piece in honor of them. Sweet memories!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

2010-12-16T20:56:00.001-08:00

This cowboy santa is part of my middle son's ornament collection. I do believe it's my favorite of the santas. Do you notice anything strange about it? Well, it made it through two Christmases before part of it bit the dust. And around here, that's kind of a record!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

2010-12-15T14:45:00.001-08:00

Today I want to show you one of my favorite ornaments. Every year I give my four year old daughter an angel ornament. This one was actually given to me but she immediately requisitioned it for herself since it was, after all, an angel. It's an unusual ornament, I think that's what I like so much about it. Simple and rustic but elegant at the same time.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

2010-12-14T06:52:00.001-08:00

I put this together yesterday using a thrifted tin box and tray, glass ornaments my mother-in-law gave me years ago, pine branches from my neighbor's tree and holly from my yard. What do you have around your house and yard that can be made into new Christmas decorations? Be creative!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

2010-12-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

Every day from now until Christmas I want to show you a little Christmas something from my house. I am going to start off with this simple ornament. It belongs to my middle daughter, every year I give each of my children a themed ornament and her theme is stars. Quite fitting for her calm bright personality. This soft, cream colored, wool felt star was her ornament last year and I love the contrast between it and the green texture of the tree. Just lovely!

Friday Photo

2010-12-10T07:19:00.001-08:00

A recent thrifting venture yielded two bags of vintage buttons. Which in turn have yielded hours of fun for little treasure seekers. Oh what fun to be had in a jumble of buttons!

Chai

2010-12-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

When cold wind whips around our little house and I find myself wearing my old sweater and wool socks all day, it's time for a little something hot to sip. I love a good hot cup of tea, somedays it's hot cocoa, others call for steaming coffee with a generous pour of cream. Only last year did I discover chai. Yummy creamy hot milk in exotic spiced hot tea. It's so very easy to make and if you can find a source of bulk spices, it's very inexpensive.

Last week as I was herding the chickadees to bed, I stopped and filled a pan with two cups of fresh water. Into that I dropped a cinnamon stick, two cardamom pods, five cloves and five black peppercorns. While I tucked everyone in, it simmered fragrantly on the back burner. Twenty minutes later I took a break from sewing the lining of Cubbie's new diaper bag to turn off the heat and drop in two tea bags to steep. By the time I finished sewing the name tag onto the top of the bag, it was ready. All I had to do was strain it into my waiting mug and stir in some raw sugar and warm whole milk. Perfect! Want to come over? I'll make you some.

Mom's Famous Christmas Fudge

2010-12-04T16:58:00.000-08:00

In our family, it's not Christmas without Mom's famous Christmas fudge. An old-fashioned (no marshmallow fluff here, folks) chocolate fudge full of pecans. Throughout the month of December, we will cook up and devour several pans of the sweet chocolatety confection. Just for you, I made a batch and photographed the process. Sweet of me, wasn't it? Well, I try!

In an iron skillet (the old splattered cookbook page says iron skillet and we have never tested fate by using anything else), combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 8 tablespoons of cocoa.

Add 1 cup milk, 2 tablespoons of corn syrup or 1/8 tsp cream of tartar and 2 tablespoons of butter.

Bring it to a boil. The smell of boiling fudge is embedded in my memory as Christmas. That and fresh pine and tangerines.
You have to cook it to soft-ball stage. Now, of course you can use a candy thermometer, they all have soft-ball stage marked on it. I don't have too much luck with them. For one thing, you can't clip it onto the side of an iron skillet, it only will clip on to a deep pan. Another thing is that they often measure inaccurately and have to be tested in boiling water and adjusted to show the correct temperature. A bit too much for me to mess with when I need a pan of fudge. So I will now show you the simple and fail-proof cold water method. You will thank me. You're welcome!

Above you can see the lovely fudge boiling away and a cup of water with a drizzle of fudge in it. The water must be cold, not iced, but cold tap water. After about 5 minutes of boiling, drop a good teaspoonful of the hot fudge into the water. It will be liquidy and kind of dissolve. You have to keep boiling.

A few minutes later, the teaspoonful of fudge will make a squishy ball in the water but it will by almost too soft to pick up out of the water. In another minute or two, the fudge will make a soft ball that you can easily pick up. It should form into a ball but slightly flatten as it sits in your hand. When that happens, pull the pan off the burner. You did it! Now wasn't that easy? Just be sure to change our the water between tests and it's very important to sample the "tests" each time to be sure you got the recipe right. When the kids catch onto what you are doing then you have to share with them. Set the fudge aside to cool for 10 minutes without disturbing.

Now, roll up your sleeves and beat the dickens out of it with a wooden spoon. You have to beat it until you are sure your arm is about to fall off. As soon as it starts to get glossy and thick, stir in 1 1/2 cups of chopped pecans. Stir them in quickly or it will set up in the skillet. Then as fast as you can, spread the fudge in a buttered 8 inch cake pan and let it cool. When you can't stand it anymore, turn it out onto a platter and cut it into pieces.

The final product will be determined by how close you get it to soft-ball stage. A little under, it will be creamy and soft, a little over and it will be firm. However it turns out it is delicious, even a "flop" will be devoured. Anyway you do it, it's part of our Christmas. I hope you try it, it might just become part of yours! Oh, don't forget to let any kid who happens to be around "clean" the pan with a spoon. They will love you forever.

Friday Photo

2010-12-03T06:29:00.001-08:00

There is some Christmas doll making going on over here. This doll is from a fun little book about making dolls from fleece. So very soft and cuddly. She and her sister are soon to be shipped off to my two little nieces. I think they will be well received!

The Glamorous Tightwad

2010-12-01T12:31:00.000-08:00

I have long been addicted to being a tightwad. You know it's bad when your mother-in-law stages an intervention. Part of my therapy has been to force myself to buy bread and salad dressing even though it cost considerably more than making it yourself. My progress has been inspiring, at least to myself it has.

Well, my new venture with buying stuff instead of making it myself like the proverbial Little Red Hen has taken a serious hit. A slam into a brick wall hit in the form of this book. Do It Gorgeously by Sophie Uliano, also author of Gorgeously Green and the website and blog, www. Gorgeously Green .com, has undermined all my progress. Her focus is on making your own products (think Pine Sol and insect repellent) to save money, be more "green", and reduce the toxins in our homes. I am hooked! So far I have made:

Green Goddess Washing Powder. Super easy to make and use.

Gentle Facial Exfoliating Scrub. Oatmeal and lavender, can't stop using it!

and All Purpose Cleaner. Makes cleaning the stove and counter easy and quick. I also tried her recipe for Best Ever Cough Syrup, Rinseless Car Wash,

and Gorgeously Green Purifying Green Clay Mask.

Up next is Chamomile and Aloe Cleansing Cream to go with Geranium and Apricot Moisturizer, Regenerative Floral Beauty Balm, Vanilla Body Cream, Whitening Peppermint Toothpaste,

Cough Drops and Citrus Furniture Polish. There's a bit of everything in here.

There is an initial cost on some of the recipes, especially the beauty products, since they use essential oils but they last for a long time. I have my list and will be purchasing things as the budget allows. So, here's to my new venture as a glamorous tightwad. I like the sound of that already!

Christmas Sewing

2010-11-30T12:32:00.000-08:00

I've been working on my Christmas sewing projects. One has been in the works for a while and others I just started yesterday. For several years now I have given handmade things to everyone in our family, the kids usually find a mix of handmade and store-bought/vintage gifts tucked under the tree. Every year it's the handmade things that bring me the most joy to give. There is really nothing like seeing someone you love open something you produced with your own hands, if they love it and use, all the better. The scarf and hat sets I knitted for the kids two years ago have seen more use as leashes in their favorite game of "Dog and Owner" than for warmth, but at least they use them for something.

A set of potholders with a matching dishtowel are all ready to be packaged up and sent off to my sister along with some fleece dolls for her little ones. My mother's gift is almost done, can't say what that is, she'll find out! A sister of mine who has a birthday today has something that is halfway finished. The fabric for a darling stuffed elephant is waiting to be cut, that's for Sweet Baby Girl. Last night I even squeaked in a handmade treat for myself.

If you are thinking of making some things for people you love this Christmas, give it a try. Choose something simple that uses materials and skills you already possess and you will find more joy than ever before in giving gifts this year!

Friday Photo

2010-11-26T06:50:00.001-08:00

I know this is the second week featuring a certain toddler's hair. Jumping on a friend's trampoline brought on a major static attack, cracked me up. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

A Year of Pie: Spiced Pumpkin Pie

2010-11-21T19:23:00.000-08:00

At our home, we are serious about Pumpkin Pie. It was the first thing I ever cooked for my husband when we were dating. Over the years it has been his birthday "cake" multiple times, kind of to be expected when you have a late October birthday. I have made it from fresh pumpkin many times, even tried cooking down the pumpkin puree in an iron skillet to make it extra rich before adding it to the pie filling. You name it, I've tried it.

The real breakthrough came from an old Bon Appetit magazine salvaged from the free bin at our library. Several years ago, the actual magazine met it's fate but the torn out page found a permanent home in my recipe file. What sets this apart from the back-of-the-can recipe is the combination of sugars, the spices and the addition of molasses and real cream. No evaporated milk to be found here friends, just the straight up real stuff. My only change from the original recipe is to use a homemade crust instead of the frozen crust they call for. Don't mean to sound like a food snob here, folks, but a pie crust is really easy to make. Do not fear the crust. Try my recipe and you will see for yourself what a difference it makes. That said, let's make some Spiced Pumpkin Pie!

In a good sized bowl, combine your dry ingredients. I love the contrasting colors of the four spices all together.

Here are the four different spices I used. All my spices and herbs come from our local natural foods store where they have a bulk herb section. Not only is the selection incredible, they are very fresh and much much cheaper than what you find at the grocery store. I could just stand there and open each jar one at a time and smell them all. I keep my spices in 4 ounce canning jars, they are a perfect size and you can enjoy all the pretty colors whenever you open the cabinet.

Above you can see the three eggs, funny how different the colors of the yolks are. Also, you can see my favorite eggbeater. This one hangs by my stove and gets used everyday. If you don't have a sturdy vintage rotary beater, find yourself one. You'll be forever grateful, they are so very handy.

This vintage pyrex bowl has a pretty cross-stitch pattern that you can't see on the outside, inside it has the beaten eggs, molasses, heavy cream and pumpkin puree. Pumpkin puree from a can. I love it.

Pouring the cream/egg/pumpkin/molasses mixture into the sugar and spice mixture. It's kind of mesmerising pouring in there isn't it?

Here is the pie, ready to go into a hot oven. The sacred magazine page is sitting right by the pie.

And now the finished pie, still slightly puffed from baking. I have a thing about crust, incase you hadn't noticed. The bottom of the crust must be golden and baked. Obviously this presents some problems since it is on the bottom of a searing hot pie plate. This is why I alway use glass. When I think it's just about done, I carefully take it out of the oven and lift it up high enough to see the bottom crust. If it's not brown enough, it goes back in to finish. An underbaked crust is the ruination of many good pies. Bake that crust!

Spiced Pumpkin Pie

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon ginger

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (one can)

2 tablespoons molasses

3 eggs

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 nine inch pie crust

Stir together the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, molasses, eggs and cream. Pour into the first mixture and then into the pie crust. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake about 40 minutes or until the center is just set. Cool and serve with lots of freshly whipped cream.

Serving with lots of freshly whipped cream is just what you'll find me doing this Thursday, this and The Other Pie.

Friday Photo

2010-11-19T06:15:00.000-08:00

What better way to scoop homemade laundry soap than with an antique silver spoon!

Raisin Scones

2010-11-15T06:54:00.000-08:00

Every couple of weeks we have hot scones for breakfast. Basically a scone is a lightly sweetened biscuit. Beyond the basics, the sky is the limit with scones. You can bake up savory scones with herbs and cheese to serve with a rich stew in the winter or quiche and a beautiful salad in the summer. Of course, small dainty scones with strawberry jam and devonshire cream is a must for tea party. This recipe is tried and true, and it's bona fide since it comes from a bread book written by a British baker. I have adapted it a bit for my taste and I always double the recipe to feed the horde. This recipe is dedicated to my dear friend Sally, who has never been too old for a tea party!

Raisin Scones

adapted from 100 Great Breads by Paul Hollywood

1 2/3 cups unbleached white flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons of butter

2 medium eggs, beaten

scant cup of milk

1/2 cup raisins

sugar for sprinkling

Mix together the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or by hand (I always use my hands, they are your best kitchen utensil!). Mix together the eggs and milk, then stir into the flour and butter mixture. Knead lightly in the bowl or on a floured surface, adding more milk if the mixture is too dry. Knead in the raisins until evenly distributed. Pat the dough into a thick circle and cut out with a biscuit cutter. For breakfast I use a large size but for a tea party I would use my smallest cutter. Put the scones on a buttered baking sheet and sprinkle them with sugar. I only use raw sugar for baking and it makes the loveliest crust on the tops of the scones. If you only have granulated sugar it will be just fine, but raw sugar is amazing for this. It will make you will make you feel quite fancy indeed! Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve right away with plenty of butter, jam and devonshire cream. Be sure to wear your best hat!

Friday Photo

2010-11-12T05:09:00.000-08:00

Here is my favorite photograph from this week. This also happens to be one of my favorite people. Yesterday evening, after a rain shower, the sun was shining and I sat outside with our youngest son while he played and chattered away. Right now he loves airplanes, balls to roll and throw and "big" spiders. As you can see, he has a head full of fabulous golden curls.

Veteran's Day

2010-11-11T06:26:00.000-08:00

I love Veteran's Day. For many years now I have called my grandfathers and my grandfather-in-law to thank them for what they did for me and our country when they were young men. This year I will call my grandfather in Michigan to thank him. I'll think of my paternal grandfather and the stories he told about seeing Paris at it's height of destruction after WWII. I'll also think about my husband's grandfather and all the stories he never told a soul about his four years of service in Europe during WWII. Then I'll call my little brother to thank him for serving two long deployments as a Marine in Iraq. Great courage is what it took to do their jobs to protect our country and years of great courage to come home and pick up their lives and carry on. Thank you!

Grade B Baby!

2010-11-08T05:44:00.000-08:00

For several years I have been reading about Grade B maple syrup. The elusive syrup that is made after the Grade A syrup you find in the store, the stuff maple syrup makers save for themselves to pour on their pancakes and drizzle over their vanilla ice cream. An internet search showed where I could order some, after I won the lottery that is. I resigned myself to enjoying the regular stuff until that fine day when we could visit Vermont and hunt some down.

Well then, I was perusing our natural food store, filling up my jar with some blackstrap molasses from the bulk section, when what should I see but a spigot labeled Grade B Maple Syrup! Could it be? If you happened to see a woman crying in the bulk section, that was me. I filled up my jar, toted it home and proceeded to sample the nectar with a spoon. Of course, my husband caught me so then I had to share. Now every Friday morning you will find us pouring our Grade B (that's what we call it) over our pancakes and the person who cleans up the kitchen gets to lick the spoon!

Friday Photo

2010-11-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

Inspired by my very own creative mother, I have been taking at least one photograph everyday. Doesn't sound all that ambitious, but sometimes I'll go several days without picking up my camera. To rectify that I have been taking daily photographs of life around me. And this, my friends, is my offering to you this week. I do hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Of Disasters, Culinary and Otherwise

2010-11-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been slightly forgetful and distracted. Not too bad of a problem unless you forget to turn off the burner under a pan with a colander full of pasta in it. Then being forgetful tends to chap your hide. And did you know that after it cools, you can peel melted plastic right off of the beautiful pan you just "inherited" that same week from your mother-in-law. A great deal can be accomplished with a good dose of determination!

And a little note to self, if you put some chair cushions into the washer to clean them, check them first to see what they are stuffed with. In the off chance that they are stuffed with a million little chunks of foam, try another method of cleaning besides the trusty old washing machine. Otherwise you will find yourself scooping out wet little chunks of foam with a dixie cup for at least half an hour. And that's all the nuggets of advice from little old me today!

Thrifting Treasures

2010-11-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to see my family, my mom and I treated ourselves to a day of thrift shopping, antique browsing and non-stop talking in a town near their farm. Of course, since it was just us girls (Sweet Babe was with us) we ate yummy girl food for lunch at a charming lunch spot.

Two of my favorite finds of the day are featured in the photo above. I am delighted by the teacup from the Hotel Peabody in Memphis Tennessee which is still in operation. Of all the china patterns I have seen, this is one of my all time favorites. The weight of it is what makes it perfect. It's like those old restaurant mugs that are just the thing for a steaming mug of coffee on a cold morning. Extra cream please. In fact, I had my coffee in it this morning!

The New Encyclopedia of Modern Sewing is beautiful, full of photos and sketches from the fifties. I picked it up because it had a whole chapter about recovering furniture, something I plan to undertake quite soon. I do believe it will be right at home by my collection of Home Ec books from the fifties.

What is your favorite thrifted or antique treasure?

Read it and Weep

2010-10-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

I have a friend here in town, she's one of the doctors at the pediatric clinic we use, and God is using her to transform ordinary lives. Without knowing what would come if it, she embarked on a short medical mission trip to Haiti last winter. Next month she will be going back for the fourth time. To say that God captured her heart through the people of Haiti would be a serious understatement. Her blog, Beyond this Mountain has been transforming my life.

We all read and hear of disasters though there hasn't been anything as devastating as the earthquake in Haiti in our time. I think it is easy to become numb to devastation and statements like "300,000 to 500,000 people died in the earthquake in Haiti". The fact that I could skim over statements like that and read the rest of the paper broke my heart. When you break it down into amounts you can visualize it's not so easy to pass over. There are about 68,000 people living in my town, if you go with the smallest number of deaths, that's about 4 1/2 times the people living here. For every person I see, there would be almost 4 other people who would be dead too. Kind of heard to swallow.

What my friend Stacy is writing about are the people who survived and are now living in what's left. This is what is changing my heart. There are very few jobs, their translators earn $10 dollars a day when they have work. One of them supports his parents and 8 siblings with his $10 a day when he can get work. Work that he has to walk up to 2 hours a day to have, 2 hours each way, in 100+ degree weather. Now whenever I spend money, I break it down into how many days it would take them to earn that. He would have to work 3 days to buy these diapers, 1 day to pay for my library fine, 1 and 1/2 days to pay for this book. Makes it all look different.

Please read Stacy's blog, really read it. Join me in thinking and praying about what you can do. Let the reality of what is happening to these people sink in.

Life

2010-10-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

Oh my, it's been too long since I took the time to write. I do love my little bit of the blog world but I've been swept away with life and busyness lately. We've been working on school, making worm jars, eating, cleaning up from eating, cooking, doing laundry, kissing the baby and the other ones who used to be babies. I've been adjusting to our new homeschool schedule and figuring out how to teach more than one student at a time. Of course, there is the perpetual refereeing of fights and administering of justice. There's even been a bit of sewing going on. Not anything ambitious but still, it's refreshing to get out my machine and remind myself that I do love to sew.

These photos are of my kitchen and dining room/school room. I love this space, it's small but homey. We use every inch of it and lately it has been showing it. My usual means of self-motivation aren't working to get a cleaning system in place but I'm trying to get rolling. I've used several cleaning systems in the past, including FlyLady (which I love) but something in the back of my mine says the "just get up and do something" system would work just fine. Thanks for listening to my ramblings about life and cleaning. I hope your fall is off to a glorious start!

Bread for the Challenged

2010-09-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

I love bread. It's serious folks, I bake some form of bread almost every day. Yesterday it was tortillas, today was homemade crust for our cheese pizza at lunch, Monday I made a loaf of the hearth bread you see in the photograph. This weekend it was two loaves of braided Oatmeal Sunflower Bread for a family get-together. I am blessed to own a wonderful bread mixer that I love but with the time constraints of homeschooling and keeping up with the brood, I was looking for a faster and easier option for my baking fixation.

Enter the no-knead bread method. This had been all over the internet but I just recently picked up the book at our library. If you are a cookbook reading nerd you will enjoy reading through his introduction and the descriptions of each recipe. If you are a bread snob like myself you will love the final product of his recipes. What I can't get over is how easy and quick it is to make fabulous bread following his methods. My only problem is that it makes one loaf. My family is ravenous and one loaf doesn't last too long. But I guess that's a good problem to have.

To make the loaf in the photograph I mixed 1 and 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour with 2 cups of white flour, 1 teaspoon of yeast, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of salt and about 1 and 1/2 cup of water. It takes just enough water to make the dough come together, it will be sticky but that's okay. I stirred it together right before I went to bed, popped a lid on the bowl and left it on the counter. That's all! No kneading, watching or punching down. Nothing. The next morning, I turned the dough out onto the countertop after I sprinkled it with some flour and quickly shaped it into a ball. Then I dusted a cloth napkin heavily with flour and set the ball of dough, smooth side up on the napkin and let it rest. The dough is quite sticky so you have to work quickly but it isn't critical to get it smooth or perfect, just rounded up. After about an hour I put my cast iron pot with a lid into the oven while it heated to 450 degrees. About 45 minutes later I took the lid off the pan and tipped the risen loaf off of the napkin and into the pan. This is a bit nerve-wracking for recovering perfectionists but it will rise in the pan while it's baking and that seems to take care of any mess-ups in the dough transfer. The bread baked for 15 minutes with the lid on and 25 minutes with the lid off. Then all there is to it is to cool on a rack.

This recipe works great for pizza dough if you increase the yeast to 2 teaspoons and let it rest in the bowl for about 2 hours. I mix it up before we start school to make pizza for lunch. It just can't get any easier than that.

I hope you try it out and look for the book, he has so many other recipes that I didn't try out, not yet anyway!

A Year of Pie: August is Fresh Peach Pie

2010-09-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

Everything has been wild and crazy around here. So much of my time since the baby's birth has been spent adjusting and just staying afloat. It is however peach season, my favorite season of all. I wait all year for August, the divine month of perfectly ripe Arkansas peaches. While I was waiting to pay for my bushel of Red Haven's, tears came to my eyes. It's pretty serious, folks, peaches and I go way back. On Sunday I chopped some up for preserves, set some aside to eat fresh and then sliced the remainder up for our August edition of A Year of Pie. Perfection!

You don't need a recipe for Fresh Peach Pie. Just peaches. Oh and pie crust would be nice too. Above you can see the sliced peaches tossed with about 1/2 cup of brown sugar, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Let it sit while you work on the crust.

When you get the bottom crust in the pie plate, fill it with your luscious peaches and dot with butter. Wet the rim of the bottom crust and gently lay the top crust on it and fold the edges under.

Crimp the edges, brush the top with milk and sprinkle with sugar, be sure to cut some slits in the crust for steam to escape. Put it in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling out of the slits. Set your beautiful creation on a rack to cool as long as you can stand to wait and then serve that baby up!

August Break - Splash!

2010-08-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

Lots of splashing is going on around here. These two boys have taught themselves to float and swim. Big Sister has finally stopped crying when water gets on her lovely bathing suit. The addition of a wading pool for the little ones has done wonders for promoting peace. All in all having water available to splash and play in has made for a pretty fun summer. Good times!

August Break - Tree Frog

2010-08-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

All summer the kids have been finding frogs. Lots of tree frogs, regular frogs and then huge toads. All my plastic containers are gone now after housing the various amphibians, but oh the fun to be had if you have your very own frog. Especially if you can scare your mama with it!

August Break - Sweet Nana

2010-08-04T15:49:00.000-07:00

Our Nana, what can I say. She and Papa live across the street from us. They are grandparents in every way but by blood. Baby Sister is so happy to finally get to meet her Nana and I do believe the feeling is mutual.

August Break - Let me in!

2010-08-03T13:03:00.001-07:00

Funny Baby Brother has just discovered that if you press your face against the door, the people inside will laugh. What a clown! Don't worry, we finally let him in.

August Break

2010-08-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

While blog cruising tonight, I came across the August Break. The idea is to post a photograph or two everyday with or without words. I like it! Here is my first image for my August Break. Peppers and fruit in my favorite vintage bowl.

Banana Crunch Muffins

2010-07-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

My sister has informed me that it has been a while since I posted something. Well, we've been busy over here in these parts. Very busy nuzzling a certain baby neck and monitoring holding turns and such things. There hasn't been too much cooking going on thanks to our wonderful family and friends who have fed us for the past few weeks. However, I have taken care of breakfast and snacks so what I am sharing today is the result of my breakfast cooking. I would love to share some of the actual muffins but if you came'a knocking at my door, I'm sorry to say that there would be none to share. I couldn't stop eating them. And nursing appetite aside, they were really that good. Today I whipped up another batch to show you these photographs so if you came by in the next day or so you might actually score one for yourself. Hurry though, this nursing mama needs her calories!

The recipe is adapted from one on Allrecipes.com

In a large bowl, mix 3 cups of flour (I use half whole wheat/half unbleached), 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Whisk to combine. Measure the wet ingredients into a large liquid measuring cup. Mix 3/4 cup milk, 2 eggs (I used "flax eggs" 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds and 6 tablespoons water) and 1 cup of oil or melted butter (do not be afraid of the fat, it makes everything better). Mash 2 or 3 very ripe bananas. I chose not to show the mashed bananas, they looked pretty grotty. Set all these mixtures and mashes aside while you measure out the crunchy stuff and butter your muffin pans. This recipe makes 24 muffins, by the way. You can cut the recipe in half or keep the extra muffins to freeze or eat in a frenzy later on.

In another bowl, measure out the crunchy ingredients. You need 1 cup of chopped walnuts, 1 cup of coconut and 1 cup of granola or oatmeal. If you can, use your mother-in-laws antique bowl that she left in your fridge over the weekend full of egg salad so you wouldn't have to cook. Try not to think about keeping it.

Now, back to the first bowls. Pour your wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix quickly and gently. Quickly and gently are the cardinal rules of muffin mixing. Never forget them. Stir in the mashed bananas. See, I told you they look ooky. Don't worry about mixing it completely, when you add the crunchy stuff everything will mix together.

Pour in the ingredients that were in the Mother-in-law bowl. Again, try not to covet the bowl. Recognize your obsession with antique mixing bowls and then move on. I hope you are impressed with my action shot going on here. I try. Gently fold the nuts/coconut/granola mixture in. Remember the cardinal rule and don't get too busy with the folding.

Scoop the batter into the muffin tins. A word about buttering the tins as opposed to using paper liners. Obviously, the paper liners are easier but the muffins always stick and then you lose some of the delicious muffin. This bothers me so I buck up and butter the tins. Also, have you ever tried to eat a muffin while pulling the paper liners off of muffins for 5 kids? By the time you get to the fourth kid, the first one is ready for another muffins. Not very conducive to muffin eating.

Here are the muffins after baking for 20 to 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Warm and moist with a bit of crunchy yumminess, just perfect!

A Family Tradition

2010-07-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, a family ventured out into the forest and found a little cabin. No one was home so they decided to stay there for a while. After the mother and father helped all of their happy children get settled into the cozy cabin they sat down to rest. Later that evening when it was time for all the happy children to go to sleep the parent saw that since Baby Brother was sleeping in the baby bed they brought, there was no place for Baby Sister to sleep. So the mother pulled a drawer out of the dresser she found in the cabin and tucked her sweet new baby into the drawer. As she looked down at her tiny daughter snuggled in the drawer she realized that at some time during her years of being a mother she had tucked all six of her children into a drawer to sleep. Several had their turn sleeping in their uncle's drawer when they were visiting their grandmother. One had slept in a drawer at a hotel in Mississippi. The mother even remembered her little sister sleeping in a drawer from her college dormitory dresser when her mother brought her to visit for the weekend.

The mother realized that this sleeping in dresser drawers was almost a family tradition but most of all she thought there was nothing more darling than a little pink baby tucked in to sleep in a drawer.

A Few Things I Forgot

2010-07-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

It might seem strange to have forgotten these things since we were in this same place almost a year and a half ago with Baby Boy but there are a few thing I forgot. Such as how tiny and funny newborn feet are. They curve around and fold up to their little legs. But only for a few days then that phase is gone. I had forgotten how impossibly tiny baby toenails are, you can barely see them!

I had forgotten how much I love scrawny newborn legs, little chicken legs with wrinkly knees. Soon there will be rolls and dimples on those knees but right now they are knobby and unbelievably cute.

Also, I didn't remember how much I love looking at her sleeping positions and identifying what parts were sticking out where when she lived in my belly. It was her right knee sticking out all the time, just as I thought. And it was her heels that would track back and forth under my ribs. She sleeps just as she has for the past months, old habits are hard to break I guess.

Another thing that I didn't forget but still surprises me every time is how much you can love a person you just saw for the first time. After all that waiting and preparing, I already knew her even the first minute I laid eyes on her. Thank you God for miracles!

Welcome Madison Louise!

2010-07-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we welcomed our sixth child into our family. Madison Louise was born at home at 8:14 in the evening after a long night and day of waiting and laboring. She weighed 8 pounds and 3 ounces and is 20 inches long. Our midwife was wonderful and our sweet neighbor who is a labor and delivery nurse helped as well. My mom was able to be there, which was such a blessing to us. One of our friends Gloria stayed with us all day to help with the kids and slipped in to see Madison's birth. It was absolutely wonderful to be at home and surrounded by so many lovely women and of course Joe who has to be the best birth coach on earth. Now we are enjoying our darling baby and watching the kids love on her. I am already imagining all three sisters in matching dresses, this is going to be fun!

From My Window

2010-06-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

Puddle jumping in a summer rain. Does it get any better than that?

Taken from my daughters' window at the tail end of a warm summer rainstorm.

Happy weekend!

Waiting

2010-06-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

Lately we have found ourselves in the familiar territory of waiting. Everything is carried by the undercurrent of waiting for the newest addition to our family. Of course, I am most affected by this state of being considering my ribs are the ones being pushed and prodded by this busy little person. I am blessed with very healthy pregnancies, healthy but increasingly problematic. This baby has presented me with the challenge of needing to sit down most of the day. You may be able to imagine the difficulty of running a household of five busy kids while needing to sit constantly. God's grace has helped me get through the past few months with a relatively contented spirit but I tell you, fervent prayers for an early delivery have been offered up on a daily basis lately. Only two weeks to go now so I think I just might make it.

To entertain myself as I sit, I have been reading. All my life I have loved to read but the busyness of being a mom tends to push reading down on the priority list. It has been a treat in the past few months to just read as I sit. When I have the energy (and Joe is here to watch the chickadees), I head to the library and load up. Any cookbook or biography that looks remotely interesting gets stuffed in my bag. I've been going through a book every couple of days and it has been wonderful.

When I can't stand sitting on the couch anymore I have been sitting at my sewing machine. A set of blue swaddling blankets await the latest addition. When I can waddle over to the fabric store I plan to make up a set of pink blankets. The fun of not finding out what kind of baby is kicking around in there, two of everything! A few repurposing projects have been completed and that has been fun. Hopefully I can show you those soon, they turned out great.

So I have been waiting over here. Not posting too much but focusing on enjoying my kids and trying to breathe. Before too long I'll be sitting around nuzzling a little newborn neck and protecting him or her from the adoring herd of siblings. I can't wait!

From My Window

2010-06-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

Early morning sun on clouds and flowers on my Catalpa Tree. The blooms are so beautiful it almost makes up for the worms later in the summer. Almost.

From my laundry room window.

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Year of Pie. June: Creamy Coconut

2010-06-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

Recently, my dear husband informed me that he had a request. Since he "hardly ever asked for anything" (anyone who has ever met him can take a break to laugh hysterically), he felt sure that it was a reasonable request and surely I couldn't refuse him. He simply wanted more pie. That's all. More pie. Well, who could deny anyone such a practical and reasonable request. Far be it from me to say no to that. What we came up with was a plan to make a different pie each month showcasing that season's most "pieable" flavor. For June I decided on Coconut Pie, or Creamy Pie as my neighbor's son calls it.

After a bit of scanning cookbooks, I turned to good old Allrecipes.com to scope out the best coconut pie recipe. When I found one that sounded good and adapted it, I knew I had a winner. It was creamy and luscious, definitely not vegan but it was for a potluck dinner so an exception was made. The crust was my usual recipe but made with all whole wheat flour. A few weeks ago I made another pie and doubled the crust recipe and put this one in the freezer. Whenever you make pie crust, try to make an extra one. It doesn't take any more time to make two but it sure saves time. The wheat crust was especially nice with the coconut filling. Whole wheat crust is sturdier so it's great with a substantial filling. Speaking of filling...

Creamy Coconut Pie

2 eggs

1 can of coconut milk (look in the asian section of the store)

1 1/2 cups half and half

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter

3/4 cup coconut

1 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup coconut, toasted (350 degree oven for 5ish minutes. Watch it closely!)

1 prebaked and cooled pie crust

Whisk the eggs really well. I pretty much beat the fool out of them because if you don't you'll get little bits of cooked egg white in your custard and that's yucky. Really yucky. Beat in the coconut milk and half and half. In a saucepan combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in the egg mixture and cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Stir constantly to keep it from scorching or getting lumpy. When it is nice and thick, take it off the heat and stir in the butter. After it is melted, stir in the coconut. Pour the custard into the pie shell and press a sheet of waxed paper onto the surface and set it to cool. Chill until ready to serve.

Just before serving, whip the cream and 1 tablespoon sugar. When you have stiff peaks, pile it onto the chilled pie and sprinkle with the toasted coconut.

Now step back and see what you have created. Good job!

Cubbie

2010-06-07T15:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a photograph of me and little Jacob from a few weeks ago. He was outside in his diaper after exploring all the neighborhood rain puddles. Last week he was a sick little guy and this week he is back to his usual wild self. Never has he suspected that he was younger or smaller than any of the other banshees that live with him, if they can do it then he sees no reason why he should not also do it. Giggles and games of imaginary kitty cat are back in our daily routine. Twice a day breathing treatments are a new part of our day but hopefully only for a month or so. These 15 minutes segments of immobility are made endurable by rounds of finger games and tickling. He is a wonderful baby with a sweet personality and it's an inexpressible blessing to have him back full force. And those two tiny teeth, who can resist those?

Almost Home!

2010-06-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

Jacob was released from the hospital this afternoon and we are at my parent's home with all the kids. He is so happy to be able to walk around and play with his brothers and sisters. Tomorrow we will head home and get settled into our new routine of breathing treatments every 4 hours. Thanks again for all your prayers!

Update on Jacob

2010-06-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give you an update on Jacob. He was able to go off the oxygen yesterday afternoon and did great with that all night. They are still needing to have breathing treatments every 3 hours and will need to be able to go 4 hours between treatments to be released. Also, he has to be able to keep himself hydrated without the IV but isn't drinking very much. Last night he had trouble with his IV and he and his dad didn't get much sleep. He is much more active and keeping him contained is a bit of a challenge. A good challenge but a little tough for a big pregnant mama!
We really appreciate all your prayers and messages. We were visiting my family for the weekend in Oklahoma so aren't in Arkansas. It's been a blessing to be close to both our families and our kids are having fun at their Grandparent's farm. Our 7 year old asked my mom if we would be going to a hotel after we got out of the hospital so they wouldn't have to go home yet! Little stinker! Keep us in your prayers and I'll post an update soon.

Sick Little Baby

2010-05-31T19:37:00.000-07:00

We spent our Memorial Day in the hospital with our sweet little 15 month old baby. He has a viral respiratory infection and is on an IV and oxygen. We would love your prayers as he recovers. Our other chickadees are with my parents so you may want to pray for my mom and dad too. The kids are happy as june bugs, my parent's house is better than Disney Land for them. The doctors say that the baby has to be off of oxygen for 24 hours and go for 4 hours between breathing treatments before he can be released. Thank you for praying for our family.

On Being Primarily Herbivore

2010-05-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

Several people have asked me in the past few months about our family's transition to eating vegetarian and I finally have a quiet moment to talk about it. The quiet moment is thanks to my husband and brother taking four of the kids to the park while the baby naps. Sweet bliss!

Early this spring our pediatrician recommended that I read a book called The China Study. It is an amazing book about a scientist's career long study of nutrition, particularly animal protein and it's link to various diseases and overall health. If you are a food and nutrition nerd like I am, you will find this book fascinating. The author details how his study led his family to eat a vegetarian and eventually vegan diet. Like him, I never imagined my family would go in that direction, it seemed pretty extreme. However, after reading this book I can't continue to eat and feed my family the same.

Some disclaimers, we have eaten several vegetarian meals a week for budget reasons for years so the idea of building a meal around something besides a piece of meat wasn't a huge stretch for me. Also, I have the most willing husband in the world when it comes to trying new foods and new ways of eating. I think it comes from being single and starving for a decade before we met and were married. If you have subsisted on ketchup and pickles for years, lentils look pretty tasty. Actually, I couldn't have found a better man for trying new things on, he's game for anything as long as it tastes good. Our kids are young and we have worked hard training them to eat what they are served so there isn't any problem there. I cook one meal and everyone eats it. If there is a particular thing that I know they don't love then I will serve them a smaller portion and eventually they get used to it or find that it's not yucky. We have always eaten lots of vegetables and salads and they have enjoyed them since they started eating regular food. When the younger ones see their siblings and parents enjoying broccoli and squash they want to get in on the action.

Another thing is that we are eating meat about once a week, usually when we eat at a restaurant or with someone else. Joe loves grilling burgers so we have done that a few times. I'm not planning any meat into my menus but if we have company he will stop by and pick up some meat. When we do, I try to have lots of vegetables and salad to go with it so I can mainly eat that. On occasions where we are eating at someone else's home I will eat more vegetables and keep the meat dish as the smallest part of my meal. The kids are free to eat as they like from what is offered to them but I have noticed they focus on the vegetables too.

Dairy has proved to be the most difficult thing to eliminate. I have only been at this for a few months but the dairy substitutes are quite a transition for me. So I am still buying and using cheese and butter but the amount I use is probably a quarter of what it was before. Exploring vegan eating is going to be an ongoing process for me and one that I am excited about. In my cooking I try to avoid any animal products but don't get too strict with it.

As far as the benefits of vegetarian eating, I am amazed. I have not gained as much weight this pregnancy and don't have as much trouble with heart burn issues. Dairy is the big one for me in that respect. Ice cream doesn't taste quite so good when you know you won't be able to sleep later. The biggest change though has been in the total stop of low blood sugar spells. For years I have had hypoglycemia and since I stopped eating animal products it has gone away completely. I never realized that my diet was creating an imbalance that resulted in my body making excess insulin, I just thought I needed to eat more. Now that I have a healthier diet that isn't a problem at all. Joe has lost weight and we all have more energy. Overall it's been a great change and new way of living for us. I can't see us going back to our old diet anytime soon but for now we are taking it slowly and trying not to be too rigid.

Coming soon will be some of our weekly menus with recipes if you are interested in trying some good family friendly vegetarian meals with your family. Hopefully you will enjoy them as much as we have.

Splish Splashing

2010-05-26T06:05:00.000-07:00

My little one has finally overcome his aversion to his feet being muddy or wet. Thanks to his siblings, he has been introduced to the joys of puddle splashing. Our weather has obliged with plenty of rain so there has been no lack of delightful puddles to splash in. At the end of our street is this particular driveway that has big shallow puddles that all my chickadees have discovered at the age Little Brother is now. Lots of memories down in that driveway!

Swaddling Blankets

2010-05-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

Last week I made these blankets for a friend, I had to wait until after her shower to post them. They are great! Each blanket is one and a quarter yard of flannel so they are square. Much bigger than standard receiving blankets, they are designed to swaddle the baby snuggly like the nurses at the hospital can magically do. On each blanket I appliqued three circles of the contrasting fabric for decoration. What I couldn't believe was how hard it is to find flannel for a boy, but I really like this combination. I'm thinking I need a set for my little one who hopefully will arrive by the Fourth of July. Of course, I'll need to make a boy set and a girl set, all the more fun!

100th Post and and Exciting Recipe!

2010-05-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

This is my 100th post! I have to say that this blogging thing has been more fun than I imagined. It's very gratifying to me to share bits and pieces of my days with who ever will listen. Oh and to do something that isn't undone in 5 minutes is psychologically necessary for me at this season of life. I can hear all you moms saying AMEN!

To commemorate this momentous day I am posting a Very Exciting Recipe for you. This concoction has changed my life and has won the hearts of several people I know. Are you ready? It's natural ant killer. See, I told you it was exciting.

Last spring brought the migration of black ant through our part of the world. Growing up in Louisiana makes one slightly immune to the threat of ants. We had black ants, sugar ants, fire ants (never was immune to those), carpenter ants and many other kids of crawling pests. As long as it wasn't a fire ant it just didn't bother me. Whenever I saw one I'd just get rid of it and not think of it again. Well, then one lovely morning I walked into my kitchen to find a swarm of them on my countertop and that was it. A swarm of anything just grosses me out.

As it happened the termite man came that day for our annual termite inspection and after I told him about the ants he kindly filled my spray bottle with some of his noxious poison to spray on the pests. After repeated warnings of how dangerous it was and how it could kill snakes and small animals, you can imagine how thrilled I was to spray it around my kitchen. So I looked up natural ant killer and found a recipe that used things I already had. A few hours later my container of goo was filled with dead ants and they never came back! When a few were found this month scoping out our kitchen again, I made up another batch and again we are ant free. It's the best thing ever!

All you need is borax, sugar, peanut butter and a small plastic container. Ants are attracted to sugar and protein, so the sugar and peanut butter act as bait. The borax is toxic to bugs. The ants eat the bait and die, then they are carried back to the colony where the other ants eat the dead ones (grotty, I know) and before long the whole colony is toast. Borax is toxic to people too if you eat a large amount so if you have small kids, make sure you keep it up out of reach. Or don't worry about it if your kids don't eat everything they see like mine.

Here's how to make your own ant killer. Mix 3 parts sugar to 1 part borax. For my trap I used 6 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of borax. Add just enough water to make a paste then stir in a teaspoon of peanut butter. I use a small plastic container that I can throw away after the demise of the ants. Use a knife to carefully poke some holes around the top so they can get in easily.

Here you can see a photo of my lovely trap. I would show you the inside with all the dead ants but it's pretty gross. Although after the plague last year I wanted to show everyone my dead ants. Now, run out and get yourself some borax and get rid of your ants. You can send me tokens of your gratitude when you see how quickly your ant problem is gone. Just don't send me your old ant trap, I know how excited you will be about it but just tell me, I'll believe you. Good luck!

From My Window

2010-05-14T13:06:00.001-07:00

This week my "little" brother (he's over six feet tall!) came to stay with us. He folded laundry, washed dishes, cleaned and best of all, entertained all five kids outside for hours on end. Pretty impressive for a 17 year old! Can you find four kids in this photograph?

From my bedroom window. Have a beautiful weekend!

Greek Stuffed Peppers

2010-05-11T06:48:00.000-07:00

In our new venture into full-scale vegetarianism we have come across quite a few hits and this stuffed pepper recipe is one of them. I guess you could call it a formula instead of a recipe since it is so flexible, kind of a use what you have and what you like kind of thing. If you like red peppers more than green, go for it. Maybe olives or feta doesn't float your boat, substitute something else or leave it out. Personally, I could eat feta cheese until the cows come home or at least until my kids catch me with it and make me share! So here we go, Greek Stuffed Peppers.

Throw some brown (or white) rice in a bowl. I figure on about 1/2 cup for each pepper half so I used 5 cups this time. Also, this is a great dish to use leftover rice in. I try to cook extra rice whenever I'm cooking brown rice since it takes longer to cook. Leftover rice is good for breakfast or using in a main dish like this one. Now, add the chopped black olives. I guess if you were really being Greek you would use Kalamata olives but we go for good old black olives around here. I keep a can or two in the pantry for our "finger food lunches".

While you are chopping the olives and measuring rice, you can saute some onion and garlic in some olive oil. How much onion you need depends on how many peppers you are cooking. I used 1 large onion and 2 big cloves of garlic. Onions and garlic are inexpensive and add so much flavor you can almost never use too much as long as you cook it properly. With something like stuffed peppers that won't bake very long you would want to cook the onions completely before adding them to the other ingredients. Crunchy onions aren't a great thing in some dishes.

Here you see my filling, rice, olives, sauteed onions and garlic, diced cherry tomatoes and a package of feta cheese. It's seasoned with salt, lots of black pepper and some oregano. Let me warn you, this filling is fabulous. I have to fill the pepper halves before I taste it or I can't stop myself. It would make a great dinner just like this without the peppers.

Speaking of peppers. While I have been chopping and sauteing, measuring and mixing, my pepper halves have been roasting. Just slice them in half and clean out the seeds. I lay them cut side down to roast so they don't get watery. Word of advice here, foil is your friend. Use foil with this recipe because peppers make a mess. It's much easier to throw out the foil than clean a pan. I'd put foil on my kids it it would make them easier to clean.

After the peppers roast for about 25 minutes (400 degree oven), turn them over, sprinkle with salt and scoop the filling into them. I always put extra salt on the peppers before filling because it seems like they tend to be bland tasting. Salt really perks them up. So don't be shy with the salt. After they are all happily stuffed, pop them back into the oven until they are hot all the way through, about 10 minutes, then serve with a big salad and some bread. Oh, and while they are baking you can eat the rest of the filling out of the bowl!

From My Window

2010-05-07T05:13:00.000-07:00

Pink Cloud in full array soaking up the first rays of sunshine. From my bathroom window.

This week has been spent honoring and thinking about my husband's sweet Grandpa who passed away this past weekend. He and Grandma had been married 68 years! A World War II veteran, hard worker and loving friend, he is greatly missed.

From My Window

2010-04-30T05:18:00.000-07:00

Spring has come to our corner of the world! From the front window of our van on a country drive. Have a beautiful weekend!

The Accidental Spinach Salad

2010-04-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

Today my lunch was the result of an unprecedented event, leftover cheese grits. In an odd turn of fate, there were leftover cheese grits the other morning and after a few days in the fridge, I had a firm disc of grits, or polenta as it is fashionably called now, that I could slice and fry in a bit of olive oil in a hot skillet. The results were good enough to warrant making a batch of grits in the future just to fry. I layered it over some fresh spinach and topped that with some sauteed mushrooms and havarti cheese (my vice this week) and then enjoyed the whole divine concoction for my lunch. Not a recipe really but consider it encouragement. Look at what is lurking in your fridge and be creative in combining it into something original that could just become a new favorite. If you've got, use it!

Sesame Fudge

2010-04-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

You are now going to learn about one of my all time favorite snacks. My mom made Sesame Fudge when I was little and now it is a hit with my chickadees. Not only is it tasty and quick but you can make it ahead of time and it's full of healthy stuff. I mean, how often can you say all of that about a snack? All of the ingredients are pantry items for me but if you do have to pick up a few things for this, it's worth it. I'm not too sure where it's name came from since it isn't like fudge at all. Fudge for me is my mom's chocolate fudge made only at Christmas time and full of pecans and sometimes dried cherries. Another recipe for another time! But none the less, the name brings to mind yummy goodness so maybe it does fit here. The original recipe calls for wheat germ and I usually use that. In a pinch I have substituted granola and even ground flax seeds, but wheat germ is easy to find and good for you so pick up a jar if you don't already have some. At our grocery store it's stocked on the cereal aisle, not sure why but check there. I buy the sesame seeds and wheat germ at our local natural food store and for basic items like this you can get them for a good price. After you make the fudge it will keep for a week or so in the fridge but I guarantee you that it won't last that long. It has been a life saver for me while I have been pregnant and/or nursing these past eight years. The protein from the sesame seeds and peanut butter is a great snack for when you are starving in the middle of the afternoon. Of course, if you don't do peanut butter any nut butter would work, I just haven't tried it. Give it a try soon, I know you'll love it!

Sesame Fudge

1/3 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup raisins

Blend the sesame seeds, peanut butter, honey and wheat germ together in a bowl until it is well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and raisins. If it doesn't want to come together you may have to use your hands. When it's well mixed, shape it into a log and wrap tightly in waxed paper. Wrap the whole thing in tin foil and chill. It will be harder after it chills. Slice to serve.

You may have to hide it from your kids after they taste it. You may even have to hide it from yourself!

From My Window

2010-04-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

Spring sunlight through the fresh new growth on the holly shrub. From my front window.

Oatmeal Breakfast Squares

2010-04-20T05:03:00.000-07:00

Above you can see all that was left from our breakfast yesterday, one lonely little square that I defended long enough to snap a picture. They are ravenous, these kids of mine. I double every recipe and add lots of fruit and vegetables alongside everything but still their appetite is amazing. In my search for easy, nutritious, and yummy breakfast items I have made quite a few unusual things. This however, was a hit from the first round. I adapted the recipe to use unrefined sweetener and to be vegan. In the last two months we have switched to a mainly vegan diet for health reasons and it has been surprisingly easy and nice. Many pregnancy problems I have chronically experienced have disappeared and I have a lot more energy. So, when I can, I convert recipes to use no eggs or dairy. These oatmeal squares were super easy to adapt and they are delicious. A pan of them provided a great camping breakfast for us last week so keep that in mind if you are planning to do any camping this summer.

A word about substituting eggs, this recipe uses a "flax egg" which is one tablespoon of flax meal and 3 tablespoons of water. Mix it in the liquid ingredient just like you would mix in the egg. Of course, you can use an egg if you want. The best thing about vegan baking is that you can eat the dough/batter! Talk about liberating. A healthy fear of salmonella was instilled in me at a young age and I must say that I have been enjoying the vegan chocolate chip cookie dough I've been making and I haven't been quite as diligent in scraping out the cake batter bowl as I have been in the past. Pretty fun!

Oatmeal Breakfast Squares

1 flax egg, see above (or use 1 egg)

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup rice milk (or whatever milk you use)

1/4 cup oil

1 1/2 cup oatmeal

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup nuts

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and spread in a greased 8 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and set. Cool for a few minutes and cut into squares. I double this recipe and bake it in a 9 x 13 inch pan. You can add diced apples or any dried fruit you like.

I hope your family enjoys this as much as we have!

From My Window

2010-04-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

This weekend my window was in a tent.

Joe's Smacos!

2010-04-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went camping at a great local state park with the kids. While camping with five small kids when you are seven months pregnant does have it's less than fun moments, overall we had a good time. Just trying to build some memories over here! Our new treat this time was Joe's Smacos (smore+tacos= smacos). He was introduced to them at his annual guys camping trip this fall and I must say, they are pretty great. For whatever reason, my chickadees don't seem to get the whole smores concept. They lick the chocolate and marshmallows off the crackers and then ask for more chocolate and marshmallows. The crackers are superfluous and my kids have been known to stick the licked bare crackers on their tummies. Delightful! Smores in tortillas however were a whole other experience and they loved them.

Besides a campfire, you will need tortillas, marshmallows and chocolate. I hope you like our healthy choice of whole wheat tortillas, it really balances out the marshmallows. You could use your pet kind of chocolate but my favorite for any recipe is Ghiradelli 60% Cocoa chocolate chips. I have the remains of this bag in my cabinet right now and I get a few during the day when no little ones are looking. It's not something I like to share and I'm not ashamed to say it. So lay the tortilla in a lightly buttered skillet and adorn with the marshmallows and chocolate. As soon as they start to melt, carefully move the smaco to a plate and fold in half like you would a quesadilla. Actually, they should be called smaquadillas but that just doesn't sound a fun as smacos. Be sure to let them cool a few minutes before eating because the filling can really burn you.

Now you are ready to make your own fun camping dessert if you should find yourself staying out in the wilderness some time soon with a fire, some tortillas, marshmallows and chocolate. Oh yeah, kids are helpful too. It's always entertaining to see how far they can spread something sticky!
One warning though, they can be addictive so watch out!

From My Window

2010-04-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

I'm trying a new thing on Fridays, a variation of SouleMama's "this moment" feature. A photo with no story, except for today, that shows something I saw from my window this week. I hope you enjoy!

Easter Dresses and Little Girls

2010-04-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

Here are my girls in their one-year Easter dresses. Oh my, they are darling if I do say so myself. And I do, quite often. I took this photograph as soon as we came home from church Sunday to document that I finally finished their Easter dresses, and it only took me one year!

You see, last year months before Easter, I began thinking about their dresses. Mentally I reviewed all the fabric in my stash and when I came to this piece I had a vision of their dresses. This fabric was purchased before they were even born from the $1 per yard rack at a local store. Originally it was going to be something for me but I was nagged by fears of looking like I was wearing a circus tent. So it languished in my fabric stash awaiting it's destiny. When the inspiration struck I immediately bought some soft cotton yarn and started on the little sweaters. Big Sister's sweater is the first one I designed myself! As soon as they were finished (which wasn't very soon) I started cutting out the dresses. The week of Easter they were still in pieces by my sewing machine waiting for an opportunity to be made into little frocks.

Three days before Easter, my sweet Mamaw passed away. She loved Easter so I've always envisioned her cooking a big Easter dinner for Jesus in heaven just after she arrived. So that Saturday, instead of dying eggs, we were driving eleven hours down south for her service. Driving eleven hours with five small children isn't my idea of a good time but we made it. It wasn't until the drive back that I begged my husband to let me out on the side of the road with the baby so I could walk home by myself. I was proud of my perseverance.

Anyway, we quickly got back into the swing of thing with spring and summer flying by and our days were spent enjoying swimming and our cute new baby. Finally, when the realization that Easter was upon us again, I dug out the unfinished dresses and put them together just in time. They still fit the girls and they were delighted with them. They twirled and skipped around, took the sweaters on and off and were generally so ladylike. This photograph is proof of that!