Hoods. They Are On.

Hoods are delicious. Sweet. Juicy.

Brief.

This year they are early. Which means they are still delicious and juicy. But they aren't as sweet as they will be. Nor as brief.

I've perused the internet to find as many ways as I can to eat them. My Pinterest is loaded with what I've found. But I'll be adding more. Cuz I just can't get enough.

I made Fresh Strawberry Muffins this morning. Oh yum. They are a veritable taste treat all by themselves. 

But I couldn't leave it at that.

We had then with Strawberry Butter. 

Decadent. 

If these aren't better than strawberry shortcake...

The natural sugar of the berries mixed with the salty of the butter, then the lightly sweet taste of real maple syrup all blended together in buttery goodness and, ohhhhh, sweet mother of mouth-melting goodness.

Strawberry Butter ala Delish

~Cut up a bunch of berries. This is a great way to use up the mushy ones.



~ Mash them up, however you choose to do that.
I used my great grandma's nut chopper and it worked great.

~Mix those little beauties into softened butter (mine comes from grass-fed cows:). Or, as in my case, completely melted butter. Hey, my little guy wanted something to drink and the butter jumped from polar freeze to liquid inferno in 20 seconds flat.

~Stir in***REAL*** maple syrup to taste. I must stress the word "real". If you use Aunt Jemima or other pancake syrup, you will end up with high fructose corn syrup butter, not lightly sweetened perfect butter.

The muffin recipe says the muffins aren't too good the next day.

Ummmm, I'm thinking that won't be a problem...

Roasted Pecans

Did you know that the nuts you buy at the store are often not as good for you as they could be because of the chemicals and processes they have undergone?

I didn't either. That's another one of those things I learned when I read Nourishing Traditions. I also learned that soaking nuts and seeds (as well as grains and flours) helps remove naturally occurring substances that can make it harder to digest them.

I am sure there are recipes online for preparing all types of nuts. I more or less use the recipe in Nourishing Traditions. I have tried almonds and pecans. I wasn't a fan of the almonds, but I might try again and add more salt. That's what I did with the pecans and I found that, in addition to the nutritional benefits, we really enjoy the taste of these, much more than the ones we buy at the store already roasted.

I add a bag of pecans, approximately 4 cups, to a container large enough to accommodate the pecans and several cups of warm water. I bought my pecans at Costco. Not the healthiest, but I'm on a tight budget so I do what I can.

Nourishing Traditions calls for just a couple teaspoons of sea salt. I add a full Tablespoon. At least. I stir it all together until I know the salt has mostly dissolved. I come back and stir it a few times. Unless I'm sleeping while they soak. Then they just are what they are. I let it soak for at least 7 hours, usually just overnight. When I get up, I turn the oven on to 200 or 225, then strain the water out using a colander, making sure it's pretty well drained. I pour the pecans onto a baking sheet in a layer and stick them in the oven. I leave them there at least all day. Of course I have to sample once in awhile to make sure the salt is right. If it's not seeming to be quite salty enough, I sprinkle on a little more, but only if the nuts are still moist.

At the end of the day, I usually turn the oven off, but leave the nuts in there. When I get up the next morning, they are perfectly done and ready to top my yogurt!

Let me know if you try it!

It's official. I'm ready for summer.
Well, at least I will be by the time it gets here.

I FINALLY made sauerkraut again. My mouth is watering just at the thought of it. On a polish dog. Or just plain. Cuz it's really, really good. Well, it will be. 

I've made this recipe many times before. My Mr. Picky Pants used to love it when he was a baby and would practically make a meal of it. Once I added shredded apple to it and it was pretty good. If I ever did it again, I'd leave the apples in bigger pieces because I don't really like soft apples. 

If you haven't read about lacto-fermentation, you should Google it. I first read about it in my favorite, most life-changing cookbook, Nourishing Traditions. I have it in hard copy and on my Kindle. That way I can look up a recipe whenever I am (there's a new one now for babies and kids too. Can't wait to get my hands on it!). So anyway, I learned about lacto-fermenting food there. It's much like pickling, only way better for you. After doing alot of reading, in addtion to the wealth of knowledge in that book, it's my understanding that, while pickling veggies and such in vinegar does preserve them, it lacks the health benefits of lacto-fermenting. And it doesn't taste nearly so delicious.

In order to lacto-ferment food, one must have whey. In fact, this is teh third time I have purchased cabbage in order to make sauerkraut, but then didn't make it because I could not find a close source of the culture needed to make any cultured item I'd need to make in order to get whey. Well, when I was out of town visiting friends recently, we went to a garden store and -- lo and behold, they had what I needed! So I finally made chevre this week. I can't stand the taste of goat milk. But I like the chevre I make because, when I make it for myself,  I make it with cow milk. Which begs the question -- is it still chevre? I'll have to look into that, but it gave me whey and that's what I was going for. Another plus for using cow milk is that the whey I got will leave no goaty aftertaste in my fermented foods. 

Here's chevre I had this morning, with pepper jelly and crackers. Yummy. 

If you decide to make this, do it soon. It takes some time to sit and ferment. Just how much time varies, depending on your taste. You need to let it sit out for 3 days, then refrigerate, but it still needs to age in there. I like mine at least several weeks old. 

I used two and a half heads this time.

Then I cut it up into small pieces. As with the apples, I used to shred it.
But I like the texture better when I cut it up small, but not so small as to be shredded.

 

Then I add sea salt, whey and caraway seeds. If you don't like caraway, you don't have to add it, but I love it!
I found this cool, very old crushing tool years ago. Someone told me it has an actual name.
It's kind of like a big pestle, as in "mortar and pestle" , but that wasn't it. Whatever you use, you need to do it for about ten minutes or so to release plenty of juices.

When I pack my jars, I use the wood pestle pounding thingy to push in down so the liquid will cover it.
My tool is perfect because it just fits perfectly into a wide mouth canning jar.

Now for sunny days, friendship, eating outside and sauerkraut! 

I can't wait!

Menu Plan Monday: French Dips

Funny how comforting it feels to start a post for Mean Plan Monday. It's been awhile, and gives me a feeling of "normal" even though my "normal" has changed!

Going from cooking for eight, then for fewer and fewer until now I cook for anywhere from just one to four or five, depending on who I'm with. It's been quite an adjustment learning to cook for less people, and I have friends and family who have enjoyed the fact that it is taking me some time to realize I don't need to make much food.

Between new business endeavors, including getting my Etsy shop back up and running (this week I hope!) and getting ready to sell some recently acquired treasures via Craigslist, picking up kids from school (their father decided to move 45 minutes away from where the family house is, where I apparently have to stay until it sells -- so it's alot of driving back and forth), and lots of other things, I'm definitely keeping busy! But, just as always, despite how busy I may be, having home-cooked meals with and for my kids continues to be something important to me. 

I hope you are ready for fall and pumpkin patches and cooking food in the crockpot! Let me know if you try any of the recipes I include below, and how you like them.

Thinking of Pumpkin Butter and SOUP, and maybe Soup's On Saturday...





Here are some things I have made in the past couple of weeks that I thought I'd share:


~ Homemade pizza using Trader Joe's or bread machine pizza crust. I've made this with or for the kids every Friday night for close to two years now. Now that I only get every other Friday with the kids, I make sure we keep doing it. My daughter especially always wants to have it. I think it is part the yummy pizza and part just feeling like "normal" and keeping tradition. I think I will post more about this in a couple weeks.



~ Taco Corn Chip Casserole This was a recipe I found while searching out instructions for a home decor idea a friend mentioned. It turned out to be a good recipe we enjoyed. And I had leftovers to share with friends the next day. They loved it too! (Suzy is dressed kind of risque but just scroll down and you will see the recipe right away!)

Her photo is prettier than mine, but mine sure tasted good:)

I made a small dish for Mr. Picky. NO veggies. 

Watermelon went great with it!

I have made French Dips for my family for years. 

It is something everyone has loved. 

Well, except Mr. Picky Pants. But that's just him. 

Despite the warm days, it started getting chilly outside this week in the mornings and evenings 

so it was a perfect time to make a favorite hot sandwich. 

Ingredients:
Sliced Roast Beef
Sourdough Sandwich Rolls
Mushrooms
Onions
Green peppers if desired
Jack or Mozzarella cheese
Au Jus

To make them, I saute mushrooms and onions in my red pan in some olive oil, bacon fat, or butter. If you like peppers, you'd add those too. I would normally add some salt, but au jus is pretty salty, and you are going to dip thirsty bread into it and soak it up, so use caution if you aren't familiar with au jus.

For heating the roast beef, I use one of several methods; I have added the sliced roast beef to the mushrooms and onions as they are sauteing, but some people don't like the veggies on their sandwich and it's hard to pick them out. I have also heated the au jus in my red fry pan then added the roast beef until heated through. This is my favorite method because the au jus gets into the beef and the beef gets into the au jus and it's really quite yummy when the juice soaks into the bread. In a pinch (when I get started late!), I have also microwaved the beef -- but please do not repeat this because I wouldn't want word to get out.

I have used packaged au jus many times, especially when we're camping. But, as noted above, the sodium content is very high, so read your package and try to choose the one with least sodium. This is not sea salt! And make sure there is no MSG. I have also used canned Beef Consomme which is really good. Using a home cooked, cooked-down beef bone broth is best. For extra tang, to the consomme or home cooked beef broth, I like to add a couple teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce and sometimes a little garlic.

When I have the "innards" all warm and ready, I broil sourdough sandwich buns under the broiler until lightly browned. This step helps to prevent the bread from getting too soggy, breaking off, and becoming a floater when it is dipped into the au jus. Then I place sliced or grated mozzarella or jack cheese on one or both sides, depending on who I'm cooking for and how much cheese I have, and place back under the broiler until cheese is melted.


Now add the meat and veggies as desired. You must cut in half to get good dipping leverage. Dip, and enjoy!

Yogurt in an Igloo

There are lots of posts around the internet for how to make your own yogurt. Google away, and you'll probably find at least ten different ways to do it.

Some call for raw milk and others say that won't work because of the competing good bacteria. One calls for for powdered milk, another says you can use non-fat, 1%, 2%, or whole milk. Opinions vary from using a powdered culture to using store-bought plain yogurt. "You MUST hang your yogurt to get a non runny product". "Don't bother hanging it, it's just fine without". Different temps, use the oven, use a yogurt maker, use a cooler...

Yep. Lots of opinions.

And they probably all work just fine.

For myself, it's all about making it simple. And cheap. And deeeelicious.

I originally followed directions for using the oven and the results were sorta slimy. So then I tried using the cooler because, by golly, I was NOT purchasing another space taker-upper for my kitchen (as in a yogurt maker)!

The cooler worked great. But then, the stopper to my cooler broke off and got, um, misplaced. And the other cooler is huge and needs a good cleaning. And they took so much water and so much space while they did their magic.

So here's what I use and it is PERFECT:

Okay, so it's the brand Igloo. But "Yogurt in an Igloo" sounds so much
more fun than saying "Yogurt in a Drink Dispenser".

It perfectly fits four one quart canning jars (that's a gallon to all of you who maybe forgot). It doesn't take much water or space, and it makes the yogurt turn out creamy and delicious!

So, here's the skinny:

~ Turn on your tea kettle filled with water.

~ Sterilize 4 one quart canning jars and lids.

~ Bring ONE GALLON MILK to 175-180 degrees F. If you want to be precise, you really won't need the entire gallon. But pretty close, so mayizwell play it safe and just do the whole gallon. Then let it cool to 105-110 so the heat doesn't kill your squirmy little active cultures.

OPINION ALERT: If you are buying organic milk from a trusted source, go for whole milk. If you cannot afford that, get skim. I personally think that getting the proper amount of fat is healthy, especially for growing children. But research shows that toxins are stored in fat cells. So if you don't know what is going into the cow that makes your milk, try not to ingest the fat.

~ Pour the milk divided evenly between your 4 sterilized quart jars that have been allowed to cool. Don't get stressed about who gets more. The jars won't care. Just be sure you leave a few inches at the top so you have room for the cultured yogurt.

~ Drop in about a quarter cup of plain active yogurt into each jar and stir. Just plop it in, no need to measure precisely. Well, I don't. But my sister who asked for these instructions probably will, because she's a precise kind of girl. She'll be happy I told her a quarter cup instead of a plop.

~ Place caps on jars. Screw lids down tightly. You don't want watery yogurt do you?

~ Now, you are going to need to fill the Igloo to just below where the jar lids will be, with water that is between 105-110 degrees. I try for 110 or a scad (sorry about the non-measurable measurement Sis) bit higher myself. I fill it about halfway with faucet-warm water, then take it's temp and add boiling water or cold water until I get it right. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT put your jars of yogurt in first, then dump boiling water in, thinking you will cool it. It's gonna kill those active lil cultures. Water first, then jars.

~ Put your jars in the Igloo. If you've filled it past where the bottoms of the lids end up, drain some out.

No Silly. Not that Igloo.

See, what'd I tell ya? They fit perfectly.

The N on one lid was so I knew which one was which when I tried Nancy's plain yogurt for one
of the starters. It was a pretty nice starter, just slightly tangier than when I used the
powdered culture and every bit as creamy.

Make sure your Igloo is in a warmish area, or wrap it real good with some towels or a blanket. I put mine in front of a heat vent in the laundry room.

Now go have a glass of kombucha or kefir and read all about how healthy it is for you and your family to ingest as many good, live, cultured foods as possible.

Then, for goodness sakes, go to bed before the sun comes up. That yogurt is going to need a good 8 hours in it's bath. It is very shy, plus you don't want to allow precious heat to escape, so DO NOT OPEN THE LID.(Alternatively, I hear you can make it early in the day and let it sit for about 8 hours, then refrigerate. I have not tried doing that.)

Dream about bunnies and rainbows and unicorns. Or a pina colada on a beach in Bora, Bora. Or about one day having your entire house clean and your laundry done all at the same time for an entire hour. Whatever puts you in your happy place so you can get some good REM Zzzzs.

When you wake up in the morning and realize it was mostly all a dream, it will be nice to remember you really do have some fresh yogurt to eat for breakfast.

Take the jars out and dry them off. Open a lid and check on the consistency. Now is also a good time to stir in a little vanilla if you like vanilla yogurt. I am thinking you could stir in any flavor extract if you'd like. I love orange extract in other things, but I have only tried vanilla for yogurt.

It will probably be just fine to eat for breakfast, but if you want optimum consistency, only eat one quart and put the rest in the fridge for a few hours and it will set even more.

My favorite is plain, topped with some pure,
grade B maple syrup and a couple of walnuts.

What's yours?

If you try this at home, please tell me how it goes!

Spring Check In

Hi. It's Me.

Popping in for a visit at least.

Not making any promises.

We'll see.

I miss you.



Much to my delight, I/we went hiking three times this week. Spring has definitely sprung here in green Oregon. I would have gone a couple more times but it was just too wet to risk one of my kids falling. I am thankful this long winter is past and we have the next 6 or 7 months of being-outdoors-kind-of-weather to look forward to. I can't wait to get our first camping trip in!




Spring also means some shifting around for our last term of school. My girl's math is wonderful, but I have switched her to Aleks for now just to make sure she is ready for the same language and styles she will see on her first achievement testing coming up in May. I also started a couple of the kids in 4H for goats last fall so they are working on getting the goats used to being handled the same way they will be when they are shown. Two of my kids are just about to start play practice for Cinderella, and three of them are practicing, practicing, practicing for their voice recital in early summer. We have decided to drop our full day of outside classes, leaving only one morning per week for a P.E. class, so we can tie up some loose ends scholastically, work on "perfecting" our character (ahem), and also so we have more possible flex times for outside learning adventures. I am loving getting more acquainted with Charlotte Mason's thoughts on this.





I am also trying to get back into a routine for meal planning and more purposeful in our traditional style food habits. I have been spoiled with the meals I made when I ordered from Zaycon Foods. They have been so helpful during some tough times when meal planning was not on the top of my agenda, but I knew that telling the kids to "throw a Cheese Quesadilla on the George Foreman and grab a few baby carrots or an orange" should not be a daily happening.






This week I started a new batch of Kombucha and I am very much looking forward to the results. I also made Kefir and have yogurt and chevre multiplying their bacteria as we speak. I have a few other things burning in my mind that I'd like to make this week too, so we'll just see.

I am working on a compilation of the chicken recipes I used when I ordered 120 pounds of chicken breast the first time and 80 pounds the second time so my friends and family who ask will have one tidy place to refer to. I will be using my blog as the posting place so my faithful blog readers will see it first;).

Unfortunately, one of my main freezer shelves is broken and the food slides off each time I open the door and I have to be careful and strategic when trying to pile it back on so the door will close. I have nowhere else to put it, so I am going to have to plan to eat the things that take up the most freezer space first in order to get to the shelf and figure out what needs to be done to make it right again.








Well there's my blippet about life today.

Here's some of what we are planning to eat this week:

BREAKFAST:

Bob's Red Mill Oatmeal Pancakes (if I can locate the cord to my griddle. Urgh.) These babies are so filling that my big boys can usually only eat 2 or 3!

My Favorite Muffins

Baked Oatmeal baked in crockpot (using alternative sweetener, probably real maple syrup which is our favorite sweetener of choice) Baked Oatmeal was one of my favorites growing up and I have made it for my family from the beginning. But I have not tried making it in the crockpot, so this will be a tester.

Migas using truly free-range eggs . I might throw in some basil because I just love basil.

DINNER: (most of the links are the basic recipe, which I adapted so I could make them as freezer meals)

~ Enchiladas using the frozen Mole Chicken Burritos I made previously

~ Buffalo Chicken Mounds served on homemade buns (I have to let them raise longer where I live)

~ Praline Chicken

~Butterflied Whole Chicken Breast cooked on the grill, with mushrooms and asparagus

~ Chicken Marbella


(For tons more recipe links and menu ideas, visit www.orgjunkie.com, where lots of ladies like me link up every week to share ideas)

Finding The Stillness

Stillness is a word befitting of winter. We all have seasons where we are recovering from being really busy. Seasons when we are wrestling inside, or facing change – welcome or not. Times when your insides are all in a turmoil and you feel like you are falling short in even the most mundane things. We don’t feel still. At all. Those are the times when there is a lot of (sometimes raging) noise. Sometimes we don’t even know how to rest.

“Be Still and know that I am God”

Sometimes I don’t even know how, yet, in the midst of stillness is where my heart must take the time it needs to answer questions, to ponder deep thoughts, to evaluate, and to be silent.

Take a deep breath.

I remember my Grandma's words when, as a small child, she brushed my very tangled hair -- "SIT Still!" Of course I was squirming and squiggling my way away from the pain. But I just needed to be still and let the brush do what it needed to do in my Grandma's capable hands. Soon the knot was out, Dippity-Doo was applied, and rag rollers were in.

The next morning, as she unrolled the ringlets, I saw the pay-off.

I think back to a Christmas season not long ago, when we had alot of snow. I remember myself, dressed warm and cozy and comfortably, walking outside, all alone at night, in the snow. The moon overhead and the city lights in the distance were set against the pink tinged sunset and reflecting on the snow. That is when I took the picture above.

I live in the country, so what I was breathing in was fresh and clean with just a hint of bold evergreen making it's way through the frozen air. We had been sledding earlier and now I was all alone for those few quiet moments. I could hear only my footsteps in the snow and a brief greeting from the cow who spotted me heading her way. All the snow from one high branch fell down at once and the branch wobbled as it was freed from the weight. But it did not disturb. I marveled at how it made a noise that did not disturb, but only accentuated the silence. But it did make me realize how still my mind had been up to that point.

Things melting away. Things shifting. Knots untangled. Being set free.

Lord, please teach me to be still. Please help me find clarity and rest.