The 847th Reason Why

The recipe I'm about to share with you is the 847th (give or take a hundred) reason why we must grow enough onions this year.  Two years ago, we were swimming in onions...

See? These onions got us through all the salsa and tomato sauce we canned as well as through the entire winter until we could start pulling up baby onions in the spring as we needed them.  Last year?  Last year, for whatever reason, left us with only enough onions to get us through the canning season, so we've had to buy onions all winter long (making it the only vegetable we've bought).  This has grated on me like nothing else. 

So!  We are really hoping that this year's crop will be abundant.  And a new reason for that hope?  This recipe for Onion Pie.  I know, I know.  It sounds weird, but this is so good I seriously almost want to call it a dessert and I don't think that this is just because I haven't had sugar in over a month.  Just look at the ingredients.  Go on, look!  See?  It's heavenly.  You may feel a bit guilty, it tastes so good.  But then you'll remember these words...

"Onions contain a fair amount of vitamin C with traces of other vitamins and minerals."  - Food Lover's Companion

Okay, well, we don't know how much a "fair amount" is, but my point is that onions are good for you and we all want to avoid those spring-time colds going around, right?  And, to convince you further, Sam said "Yummy!" (after fussing for 5 minutes because he thought he wouldn't like it- sound familiar?) and Sadie said, "Yum!"  My kids really have a grasp on the diversity of the English language, don't they? Okay, enough said.  Here you go.

 

Onion Pie (Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2003)

I followed the recipe like a good girl and it was lovely.  Next time, I will use a regular pie crust because I don't always have Bisquick on hand.  I'm sure it will be just as lovely.

1 cup Bisquick

1/3 cup milk (skim is fine)

Cooking Spray

1 tbsp. butter

2 cups chopped onion

1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)

1 large egg 

1/2 cup milk (skim is fine)

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix together Bisquick and 1/3 cup milk.  It will be very sticky.  Coat your hands or the back of a spoon with cooking spray and press the dough into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray.  Melt butter in a large skillet, add onion and saute until tender- do not allow them to brown.  Spoon prepared onions into the bottom of the Bisquick pie crust.  In the bowl of your electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, egg, milk and salt.  Mix well.  The mixture will be a little lumpy.  That's okay.  Pour the egg mixture over the onions and bake your pie at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until lightly browned on top.  Let set 10 minutes before serving.  Indulge!

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A Day in My Life

This post is for the benefit of my memory.  

These days (with Sam, 7, Sadie, 4, and Miriam 9 months) follow more of an order than a schedule because we never seem to start the day at the same time.  Our day starts when the kids (Sam and Sadie) wake up and come to ask me (hereby waking me up) for breakfast.  These days, Miriam plays nicely in her crib, pressing the button on her crib-side music toy when she wakes up.  I am most productive in the morning, but I sleep as late as I'm able especially since Miriam still needs me some during the night.  Usually, we are all up between 7 and 9 am (dressed and nursed).

Breakfast is served and Miriam plays so nice these days wherever we put her.  I check email, publish a post I've previously written, and then launch into daily tasks of laundry, dishes, washing eggs and replenishing our breakfast supply of baked oatmeal and granola.  The kids play for a couple hours in the morning at this point.

 

Right now for Sam, this means putting on his roller skates and skating all over the house, reading, playing spy and detective, driving his remote control truck (when the batteries are charged) and playing off and on with Sadie.

 

For Sadie, this time is spent playing with her animals, her doll house, her Playmobil people and often Sam.  Together, they chase each other around the circle, spy on me with their magnifying glasses (note I did NOT say binoculars even though they have some) and pretend things in dress-up clothes.

 

A couple hours after getting up and playing hard, Miriam is ready for her morning nap.  Her morning so far consisted of playing with Sadie's dollhouse and animals and her baby toys.  She isn't crawling yet, but scoots herself around on her bum or rolls so she can get at what she wants, including my legs when I'm doing dishes.  Nothing is quite like your baby working her darnedest to scoot herself over to you so she can hug your legs.

 

After Miriam is nursed and laid down (awake!), we start school.  This session will last about two to three hours.  Sam is at the table or on the couch with me (for read-alouds) the whole time.  Sadie does a page of her workbook and then goes to play for awhile, coming and going as she pleases.  Sam is getting more independent, which means I can give him some work to do and go switch laundry or vacuum while he works.  Once most of school is complete, Sam and Sadie get about an hour of PBS or video time (Liberty's Kids, Magic School Bus, etc.).

 

With Miriam napping and the kids enthralled by the video or TV program they are watching- this time is my time.  I usually get on the computer at this point to email, blog and read other blogs. I also eat my lunch during this time in peace (since I have to feed Miriam during the kids' lunch time).

 

TV time is up about the time Miriam gets awake and it is lunchtime.  Lunches are made and the kids (usually) eat together.  With a well-rested and well-fed Miriam, she goes back on the floor to play- this child is easy I tell you.  And happy.  The only time she needs me is if she topples over or scoots herself into a corner- she does not like corners.  Then, I scoop her up and we enjoy kisses and hugs before she lunges to get back to the floor and the toys.

The big kids go back to playing and I finish laundry and start dinner prep.  If it's nice out, we all go outside where Sam and Sadie dig holes (it doesn't take a lot to entertain my children), play in the sandbox or in their hog-shed turned fort.  Miriam and I sit and watch the chickens or I put her in her umbrella stroller where the kids and I wheel her around (as she squeals in delight) while I pick up sticks and weed.

When Miriam gets sleepy, she goes back to bed and the kids and I finish up school.  When school is done, they get another hour of video time while I start or finish dinner and we wait for Jamey to get home- everyone's highlight of the day.

We eat dinner around 5pm.  I generally do this dishes and Jamey plays with the kids until bedtime.  If my chores are done, I use this time (before Miriam is ready for bed at 6:30 or 7pm) to pay bills, fold laundry or go on line.  Once Miriam is down (I put her to bed), Sadie soon follows.  Sam goes up at 8pm to read until 9:30 or we find him in our bed asleep (where he reads).  Once the kids are all upstairs, Jamey studies and I do my Bible study homework (if I have any) or read.  The rest of the evening is the most relaxing part of my day- lounging on the couch with Jamey, talking and watching Netflix DVDs.

Once the garden explodes, our evenings after kids are in bed often consist of shelling peas or snapping beans.  For now, we can sit.

Except for two trips into town each week for Sam's PE class, we stay home.  Jamey often picks up groceries while he's out.  I prefer things this way- with the occasional outing to a friend's house and doctor's appointment as the exceptions.  Going out stresses me out (unless I'm alone or with Jamey only) and inevitable leads to spending money, so I avoid it.

I go to bed every night tired, but always looking forward to the next day.  I didn't include the whining and bickering and disobeying that goes on each day because who wants to remember that?  We all make mistakes and wish we had acted differently.  Let's let those memories fall by the wayside and cherish the memories of being at home all together as a young family.  I know this won't last forever.

Most days I wish that it would.

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Reminder: Pickled Easter Eggs

I'm re-publishing a post from last year at this time to remind you all of my Grandma's recipe for Pickled Easter Eggs and to show you (again) how gorgeous they are.  This is the one (and only) time I use food coloring all year.  It's a special day, you know?  This year we are hosting Easter at our house again and I will be making these eggs (they are already hard-boiled, waiting to be peeled).  I will be increasing the amount of vinegar this year because I want to knock the booties off the Easter bunny (and, well, I like a little more kick).

For a discussion on the best way to hard boil eggs so they peel nicely, read the original post and comments here.

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Some of my most vivid childhood memories of Easter are not my Easter basket, chocolate bunnies and marshmallow chicks. They are of the vibrant colored eggs in the center of my Grandma's table at Easter dinner.


I loved eggs even then- deviled, pickled red beet, hard-boiled, scrambled, you name it. Unfortunately, I had a mild egg allergy when I was a child. If I ate one, my inner elbows and the backs of my knees would break out into a spotty red rash. It was lovely. Thankfully, I have completely grown out of this.

For me to risk rash, the egg I was about to eat had to be special. And these Easter eggs were. Grandma displayed them in a large glass vase-like bowl that, now that I think about it was probably some kind of liquor decanter (although, to my knowledge, neither my Grandma or Grandpa drank liquor). Anyway, they were so pretty and it was so hard for me to wait for them to be passed around the table. They were tart, tangy and perfect.

This year, we are staying home for Easter. My sister and her family are joining us, as are some neighbors. Guess what is going to be in the center of my table?

Grandma's Pickled Easter Eggs
(make several days in advance)

10 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and rinsed
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
food coloring (at least three colors)

Combine the vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Divide vinegar mixture between at least three jars with lids, reserving a cup. Add food coloring (6 or 7 drops per color) to jars. Add shelled hard-boiled eggs- several to each jar. Fill jars with reserved vinegar mixture. Cover and refrigerate for several days before serving. Grandma says they will keep for several months. Mine are not going to last several days.

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Sugar Fast Update and My New Best Friend

I know, another long post title.  I can't break free!  On a more serious note, I have had such a good time getting to know you all through yesterdays' post.  My, you all are a fun and talented (check out this and this and this and this!) group of people.  Thanks for taking the time to let me get to know you.  I feel so much better now.

So, I'm still sugar-free.  The end of my fast (Easter) is fast approaching and I think that is actually making things a little tougher.  Now when I get a craving, knowing that in a week or so I'll be able to act on that craving seems to make it more intense.  I'm still planning on having sugar on Easter as a way to celebrate, but I'm not sure it's the best way to celebrate 40+ days of no sugar.  Celebrate no sugar with sugar.  It doesn't make sense.  But, that's the plan and I (obviously) have not rid myself of the idea of rewarding myself with food. One thing at a time, people.

I've started reading Sugar Blues by William Duffy.  I'm telling myself it's required reading and I think it will help me get back on the sugar-free wagon after Easter.  I will be giving sugar up again after Easter and am going to choose a handful of very specific occasions (Friday night is NOT a special occasion) throughout the year when I will allow myself some processed sugar.  In the meantime, I am identifying resources that will teach me how to use natural sweeteners like honey, stevia (which we are growing this year), pure maple syrup, etc.







One of these resources has been this book I picked up...Covered In Honey by Mani Niall.  I look forward to trying some of the recipes in here where honey is the only sweetener.  I'll share any good finds with you. Which brings me to my next point...










I'm collecting recipes, folks!  If you have a recipe that only uses natural sugars that you love, please share it with me by either leaving the recipe in a comment or by linking to your blog if you've posted about it.  Thanks!

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About two weeks ago, I started allowing myself honey mainly because I was struggling with what to eat for breakfast.  Oatmeal rolls with butter was really good for awhile, but I needed some variety.  I decided to make granola (my Grandma's granola).  I eat it with cold milk poured over top.  It's delicious.  The closest thing to cereal I've had in a long time.  This granola is my new best friend.  I look forward to breakfast again each morning which is important since I need the fuel after a night of sleep and nursing a teething baby girl.  And, it's not just for breakfast.  I'm eating a bowl as I write this.  Yes, I am.  It's important to immerse yourself in your work, right?  Although this does not feel like work.  Much more like play.

Grandma's Granola (slightly adapted)


7 cups rolled oats (NOT quick oats)
1 cup nonfat dry milk
1 cup dry, roasted soybeans, salted
1 cup roasted sunflower seeds, salted
1/2- 1 cup coconut
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup soy OR whole wheat flour
4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup honey
3 tsp. vanilla
2 cups combination of raisins, dried cranberries and dried sour cherries

Place all dry ingredients, except the dried fruit, into a large bowl and combine.  Measure and add the canola oil.  Do the same with the honey in the same measuring cup.  The oil will help release the honey so none is wasted.  Add the vanilla and combine everything well, breaking apart really large chunks into smaller ones.

I started out by greasing two large baking sheets really well and then spread the granola evenly on them.  No matter how much I greased (I tried this several times), the granola still stuck to the baking sheets making it a bear to get off (it wasn't burnt- just stuck on real good).  What I've found works MUCH better is to line the baking sheets with parchment paper.  The granola doesn't stick and you can lift the paper up and pour the granola right into your containers.  I shake off the crumbs and reuse the parchment paper over and over.

Bake granola at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes, stirring/turning it once halfway through, or until it has browned to your liking.  We like ours medium brown around the edges and slightly browned in the middle.  After the granola comes out of the oven, I sprinkle it (while it's still on the trays) with the dried fruit.  Fruit that has been baked with the granola is too chewy for my taste.  This keeps the fruit soft.  Toss the fruit into the granola.  Let cool completely and store.  We store ours in two two-quart jars.  This recipe makes an even gallon of granola.  Our gallon disappears in about 4 days.

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100 Friends

As of yesterday, 100 folks have signed up to "follow" my blog.  I am humbled at the thought.

Just to set things straight, I have never liked the term "follower" lurking over on the right side of my blog above all your lovely faces and pictures.  It was just the default title when I started this blog a year and a half ago.  At the time it didn't occur to me that I could change it.  Instead, I was learning how to load pictures.  You know, the hard stuff:-).  As of today, I will be changing the title to "friends".  I like that so much more. (Oh, mercy.  I thought I knew how to change it, but I don't- can anyone help me?)

 zinnias

But wait.  Friends know stuff about each other.  I know you know quite a bit about me (maybe more than you ever set out to- sorry), but I don't know anything about most of you.  SO.  Instead of having a one-sided friendship, I would love to learn something about YOU.  I know that some of you are readers but don't "follow".  You don't need to follow to be a friend- I would love to learn about you, too.  And, if you have never commented, consider this a personal invitation- even if it's just this one time:-).  If you think I know you, I still want you to answer- I'm sure I don't know everything.

Here we go...below are a list of questions.  Pick one, or two or three (or all of them!) and answer them for me (please include the question number so I know what you're talking about).  If you blog, leave your address.  I'd love to get to know you. 

1) What do you do with your time?  Do you work?  Stay home with kids?  A combination?  If you work, what do you do?  (Sorry, that was five questions.  We'll just count them as one.)

2) What do you want to be when you grow up (if you're not already doing it)?

3) Do you live in the city, the suburb or the country?

4) What's your favorite vegetable?

5) Are you a pessimist or an optimist?

6) What's your biggest pet peeve?

7) What is the first thing you would do if you won $1,000,000 (after fainting, of course)?

8) Chocolate or vanilla?

9) Sun or shade?

10) Saver or spender?

11) Does it freak you out that a semi-total stranger is asking to be your "friend" (my new name for follower)?  If so, we'll still consider you a "follower".  Whatever makes you happy:-).

Your turn.  I'll be quiet and let you talk- that makes for a better friend, right? Pin It

A Very Important Non-Office Use for Our Office

My post titles are getting to be on the long side.  I'll try to work on that. 

We use our office mostly for bill paying, storing books and keeping important papers filed away.  But!  When you have a south-ish-facing office with a bank of four windows, it also becomes the perfect location for starting plants.  The windows help supplement the artificial light and warm the room to a lazy temperature.  Last year we used a rectangular folding table to set our seeds on but this year, that table is our school table.  Jamey found an old (and very cool) table top in one of the barns.  He used saw horses for legs.  I think the paint splashes on the sides of the saw horses really adds to the decor.  I'm being sarcastic, but in all honesty, I don't care.  Grow me some food or add to my office decor?  I'll choose the food.

Jamey started the process of filling pots and planting seeds about a week ago.  He will plant more in a couple days and more yet in about two weeks.  He's following his planting schedule like a good (albeit, small-scale) farmer.  Here are some of the pots and trays getting filled outside.  He'll use many more newspaper pots (tutorial) than what are shown here.  We use commercial potting soil to start our seeds. 

The lights above our plants are standard florescent lights- not special grow ones.  The lights hang from heavy string that is looped around hooks in the ceiling.  This is ideal because they can be raised up and out of the way completely when not in use.  They can also be raised as the plants grow so they are not butting their tender little heads into their light source and lowered so they are not straining toward the light and becoming lanky in the meantime.

 

We're trying something new this year when it comes to starting plants (see below).  Jamey rigged up a warming box to help warm the soil from below.  In the bottom of the box lies a heat trace line.  Yeah.  I didn't know what it was at first either.  This line looks like wide tape.  It's used for wrapping pipes to keep them from freezing.  Plugged in, it conducts heat and warms whatever it touches.  Jamey put it on a dimmer switch  so we can regulate the warmth it emits.  (He used a very similar set-up to keep the chicken water from freezing during the winter- brilliant, if I do say so myself.)  On top of this heat trace line is sand.  Starter plants sit directly on top of the sand.  We are trying bell peppers, stevia, and basil in the warming box this year.  The idea is that the heat will warm the soil and encourage healthy root growth- warming the plants from the bottom as the sun and the lights warm the plants from the top.

 

You have to walk through our office to get to our bedroom.  Every night Sam reads on our bed for awhile before going to sleep so he won't disturb Sadie (they share a room).  The other night Jamey went upstairs and found Sam standing at the table just staring at the little plants and dirt.  Jamey asked him what he was doing.  He said that every night before bed he stands and looks at the plants.  He said he talks to them, too, because he heard that helps them grow.  Now, that's not something the companion planting book that I read talked about, but I'll let you know if we have unexplained stellar results this year.  If so, it might be due to a seven year old's seed-starting contributions.

 

Newspaper pots holding seeds and sprouting leeks.

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Crafty Sisters: A Place for Treasures in Rooms of Life and Love

We decided early on that we weren't going to do themed rooms for our kids.  I did put art on the walls- mostly Norman Rockwell (we have a gorgeous series of prints showing children in all four seasons).  In addition to the art, there are several prints given to our kids as gifts and shelves filled with books and a few toys.

 

Their beds are covered with handmade quilts and these blankets.  On their shelves, we have displayed their names and now, on the walls are these beautiful bulletin boards that my other {crafty} sister made for Sam and Sadie's birthdays.

This is exactly how I pictured their rooms long ago before there were three, before there were two, before the first one was born.  Rooms decorated by life and love.

Photographs, cards and notes can be placed behind the ribbons with no need for tacks.  No tacks are a good thing when your kids have a baby sister on the verge of crawling.  I can't wait to see how Sam and Sadie will fill them.  Thank you, Auntie!

In the spirit of spreading craftiness love, my sister agreed to provide instructions as to how these gorgeous bulletin boards came together.

Fabric-Covered Bulletin Board

Supplies:
Iron
16X20" Stretched canvas (I got mine at a craft store, they came in a pack of 2)
20X24" piece of fabric
20X24" piece of batting (approx. 1/2" thick)
Scissors
Ribbon:
2 pieces at 30" length
4 pieces at 18" length
Staple gun
Decorative buttons/accents
Hot glue gun
Picture-hanging kit

Method:
1. Iron fabric.
2. Lay fabric (nice side facing down), batting, and canvas (front facing down) in that order on table or floor.
3. Starting at long side of canvas, pull fabric and batting tightly over canvas edge, and staple. Start in the center, then staple on either side of center.
4. Pulling tightly staple the other long side.
5. Repeat for short sides, pulling tightly before each staple, checking nice side for smoothness.
6. Staple corners: fold neatly (you may have to trim fabric/batting a little) and staple
7. Trim any excess fabric and batting.
8. Apply ribbons: Starting at a corner, stretch one long ribbon diagonally and staple at each corner, pulling tight. Repeat with other long ribbon, making a large "X" on the canvas.
9. Using a short ribbon, start at the center of a short side and stretch diagonally to the center of the long side, being sure the ribbon is parallel with the center diagonal ribbon. Pull tight and staple both ends. Repeat with other short ribbons. (You may wish to "weave" ribbons as you apply them)
10. Apply decorative buttons at ribbon intersections if desired using a hot glue gun.
11. Attach picture-hanging hardware per instructions.

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Carrots Love Tomatoes

Did you know that carrots love tomatoes?  Well, evidently they do.  I'm not talking about romantic vegetable love.  I'm talking about companion planting.  I've just finished reading Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte.  (Thanks, Mavis.  You must see how she chose me as winner.) Riotte is well-know for her many writing contributions on gardening and companion planting.  This book was an easy read chock full of helpful garden planting advice.  Let me give you an excellent example of companion planting straight from the book.

"A major enemy of the carrot is the carrot fly, whereas the leek suffer from the onion fly and leek moth.  Yet when leek and carrot live together in companionship, the strong and strangely different smell of the partner plant repels the insects so much that they do not even attempt to lay their eggs on the neighbor plant."

A good thing to know if you will be planting carrots and leeks in your garden this year.  Some more super-helpful information, especially if you have kids, is the section on poisonous plants.  I knew some of these, but not all.   The following are poisonous to humans and animals:  castor beans, peach stones and apple seeds (contain cyanide), pokeberries from the pokeweed, jack in the pulpit, English ivy, hydrangea leaves, oleander, daffodils, lily of the valley, hyacinths and larkspurs to name a few.

The book has great sections on companion planting recommendations for vegetables, herbs, fruit trees and bushes, nuts, and ornamental trees and shrubs.  Here are a few vegetables and their companions (+) or anti-companions (-)...  

(+) = plant near it, (-) = do NOT plant near it.

Asparagus: (+) parsley, basil, tomatoes (repels asparagus beetle)

Beans: (+) carrots, cauliflower, marigolds (repels Mexican bean beetle) (-) onion, garlic, shallots

Broccoli: (+) dill, oregano, celery, sage, peppermint, rosemary, potatoes, beets and onions (-) onion, garlic, shallots

Carrots: (+) tomatoes, onions, leeks, rosemary (-) do not store apples and carrots near each other

Corn: (+) potatoes, beans, peas, cucumbers, pumpkin, squash and planting sunflowers in alternating rows with corn has shown to decrease army worm populations by as much as half.

Leek: (+) celery, onions, cabbage

Lettuce: (+) onions (repel rabbits), strawberries, cucumbers, carrots

Onion: (+) cabbage, beets, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce (-) peas, beans

Peas: (+) carrots, turnips, radishes, cucumbers, corn, beans and potatoes (-) onions, garlic and gladiolus

Tomato: (+) chives, onion, parsley, marigold, nasturium, carrot, they like being planted in the same place each year (-) cabbage, potatoes, fennel, tabacco (even residue from a smoker's hands)

This book goes on to talk about different gardening techniques including French Intensive Gardening (raised beds), Intercropping, Mulch, Succession Planting and Two-Season Planting.  It includes sections on soil improvement, pest control and garden plans with actual diagrams of A Model Companion Garden, a Kitchen Herb garden, Weekend Garden and Postage Stamp Garden for a small lot.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, taking many notes along the way.  My next task is to pass those notes to Jamey to see if we can move some things around on our garden map.  Vegetables need companions as much as we do, I suppose.  And, that's nice to think about. Pin It

Notecard Winners!

Ahhh...Friday nights.   They used to mean taking a stroll in the neighborhood hand in hand, going to a favorite eatery for dinner or heading to the theater to catch a movie.  Now?  Friday nights with three kids and a budget means...well, it means it's just like every other night.  Making and eating dinner, kids wrestling with Daddy, sometimes baths, then stories, prayers and bed with Jamey and I collapsing on the couch after the long day and week.

Photograph courtesy of Give A Girl A Fig

But!  This Friday night is special because I get to announce the two winners of Michelle's gorgeous notecard set giveaway!  If you do not find your name among the winners, please don't be sad.  Just hop over to Michelle's Esty shop and order a set for yourself.  If you're not feeling indulgent enough, buy a set to give as a gift.  Mother's day is coming up- gift a set to a mother you know.  I guarantee it will bring a smile to her face.

Let's get down to business!  The winners are...

Karen P. (colorful set)  

and Vintage Girl at Heart (pink and brown)

Congratulations!!  Ladies, please email me at thyhand123@gmail.com with your mailing address and let me know if you would still like the sets you chose. Pin It

Cheese Snob

That's me.  I'm a cheese snob.  Not the kind you're probably thinking of though.  I'm the kind of cheese snob who thinks she's too good for those expensive, fancy, hard-to-pronounce cheeses.  I enjoy a little feta and goat cheese, but beyond that, I prefer the basics- mozzarella, Parmesan, cheddar, monterey jack, even a little Swiss.  I know how those cheeses taste.  I know how to use them.  I know that when I shed out precious moolah to buy them, I won't be disappointed because I know what to expect and they deliver.

Some of you are probably moaning in agony, imagining a world without fancy cheeses and want to traipse over here and shake me and tell me what I've been missing.  Well, on a very small scale, I may have already learned that lesson.

I'm forever looking for new recipes to try, but for me this is a bit tricky because I don't grocery shop like most folks do.  I do most of my shopping in my pantry and freezer, so if a recipe doesn't call for what I have (produce and meat-wise), I won't make it.  I was thrilled to find a recipe over at Smitten Kitchen that I hardly had to adapt (I just substituted Swiss chard for the spinach and whole wheat bread crusts for the French bread) to fit what I had.  Except for one main ingredient.  Gruyere cheese.  Oh, dear.  I had never used Gruyere before.  Nope, never.  I scoped the cheese section out at our local grocery store during my last trip and found it sitting there, calling out to me, "I'm here!  The recipe calls for me.  Get over your cheese-snobby self and buy me!"  So, I did.  Then I went home and made Deb's Spinach and Cheese Strata.

Oh, dear me.  I'm so glad I did.  This cheese is mild in an assertive kind of way.  It's not sour or bitey like I think a fancy cheese would be.  It's well...just about perfect. Here's what my Food Lover's Companion has to say about it...

Gruyere [groo-YEHR; gree-YEHR] This moderate-fat, cow's milk cheese has a rich, sweet, nutty flavor that is highly prized both for out-of-hand eating and cooking.  It's usually aged 10 to 12 months and has a golden brown rind and a firm, pale yellow interior...

Dare I ask?  What else am I missing? Pin It

When Loving Is Hard

If you haven't learned yet, I'll just come out and tell you.  When I get fired-up about something, I tend to write about it here.  That is, after burning a hole in Jamey's ear.  First I'll unpack my thoughts.  Then I'll tell you where the inspiration came from.

Love.  We're supposed to love everyone, right?  Not supposed to, we are called to.  I learned that when I was little.  Learning it and understanding it is often easier than doing it.  Sometimes, loving people is easy.  Most of us love the members of our families, our best-est  friends, and many others close to us.  Loving these people is a cinch.  In fact, it's downright enjoyable to do nice things for them, to express our feelings in words and gestures.  They make it easy.

Then, there are those folks who tend to push our buttons.  All of our buttons.  At once.  We know we should do a better job of loving them, but it's just so hard.  It takes so much energy and often means getting nothing in return for our attempts.  How can we love them as well?

This past weekend, there was a women's retreat held at our church based on Beth Moore's Loving Well series.  That woman speaks to my heart.  Or should I say that God speaks to my heart through that woman?  {I think it's rather comical that I think so much of Beth Moore.  She's about as different from me as different can be.  She has big hair, I have flat hair.  She wears cute, designer outfits, I wear yoga pants and old t-shirts.  She self-tans, I'm always as white as a sheet.  I'm Mennonite, she's Baptist.  One thing transcends all that- our desire to know God better and live a life that pleases Him.  She says things how they are and uses scripture to do so.  That's important to me.}

Beth insists that in order to have the capacity and ability to love those who seem impossible to love, we must allow God to love us.  To love us to the point of over-flowing so that His love spills over.

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God." 1 John 4:7

The excess can then be used to love those folks who are difficult to love.  When we are burnt out, when our well is dry, it's not that we need to try harder, be nicer, and wear ourselves out more in our attempts to love.  What we need to do is let God love us.

Let God love us.

For me, that's easier said than done.  I know in my head that God loves me.  Do I feel it to the extent that I could?  No.  I don't take the time.  I don't give Him the space.  I don't allow myself to be vulnerable enough because of either one of two things happen.  One, I don't feel as if I deserve His unconditional love.  Two, I can't seem to rest in the fact that I can do no more AND no less to change how much God loves me.  Are you following me?

I grew up understanding (in my head) the part about how God won't love me less because I make mistakes, no matter how big.  What I realized this weekend is that God won't love me more either.  Not if I'm a better mom, not if I'm a better wife, not if I raise my voice at my kids less, not if I participate more in church, not if I sin less and love more.  All those are good things to be and do, but they WILL NOT change God's love for me.  His love is already at it's maximum.  God's maximum!  Wrap your head around that one.

"...God lives in us and His love is made complete in us."  1 John 4:  12b

Another revelation was that God doesn't love me in the same way I love, not even in the same way I love Jamey or my children.  My love for them waxes and wanes with how they behave and act towards me.  My love for them is a feeling.  It's subject to change even though it's the strongest human love I'm capable of.  God IS love.  He doesn't feel love.  (I'm taking this right out of Beth's mouth).  God's love is part of His Godness.  It's who He is.  It doesn't change.  It's perfect.

"God is love." 1 John 4:16b

So, I possess God's perfect, maximum love- just the way I am.  Talk about a humbling revelation.  The big question that follows, for me, is how can I allow myself to feel this love?  I want to feel it.  I want to bask in it.  I want to allow it to over-flow in me so I can use it to love those around me without feeling as though my well has run dry.

What do you do to allow God's love to penetrate?  He doesn't just want to love you.  He already does- perfectly and at the highest level He (God!) is capable of.  What are we waiting for?  Let's get on our knees or stand with our hands in the air and receive it.

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us." 1 John 4: 16

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Homemade Baby Food: Stage Two

I can't believe Miriam is nine months old already.  She did great with the stage one baby food, so we've moved up to stage two.  We're continuing to make and feed her foods that we want her to learn to eat as she gets older- particularly vegetables from our garden.  I want to share with you a couple of the recipes (and I use the term recipes very loosely) that I've used for this step up.  My ideas stemmed from Top Baby Food Purees by Annabel Karmel.

 Miss. Miriam waiting for her next bite.  In all honesty, it's a rare occasion that I get to feed Miriam anymore.  Sam and Sadie take turns under close supervision.  She eats better for them than she does for Jamey and I.

The first one I'll show you couldn't be simpler.  Potatoes, carrots and baby rice cereal.  And a pat of butter (to help the beta carotene absorb more easily).  Boil the potatoes and carrots, add butter and cereal and blend with a blender (hand-held, immersion blenders work great for this).

 

The second 'recipe' is chicken, butternut squash, apples and baby rice cereal.  Yum.  Same, simple deal.  Boil/cook chicken.  Bake or boil squash and apples.  Put them all in a bowl and blend.  That's it.

A couple other combinations have been corn/carrot/sweet potato, chicken/butternut squash/pea and apple/peach.  I also made a cooked brown rice, sweet potato and pea blend.  My little pumpkin loves them all.

They are frozen in ice cube trays, then popped out into freezer bags for easy storage and use.

We're doing two meals of baby food a day (lunch and supper) since she is still nursing so much.

I find it helpful to have a book to look to for ideas and reminders.  It's not necessary, but little nuggets of information (like which fruits can upset young babies' stomachs, etc.) help refresh my memory and avoid upset tummies. 

 Chicken/Butternut Squash/Apple, Potato/Carrot, Peas/Brown Rice/Sweet Potato

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Looks Can Be Deceiving: Our Garden In March

What may appear like a whole lot of dirt and barren soil is actually the beginnings of this year's garden.  (All the debris in the garden is actually deliberate- it's our garden mulch.)  In a few months, this garden will resemble a controlled jungle of vegetables.  Over the past few years, Jamey has been taking advantage of his spring break to start planting.  It seems early, especially since we haven't yet started our indoor plants from seed yet, but for some crops, it's time.

Usually we plant our garlic in the fall but this year, the ground froze before we could get it in.  Instead, Jamey planted cloves (from last year) in sand and kept them in a cool place.  They sprouted nicely and he transplanted them into the garden.  They are under these tomato cages.  The cages were just to keep the chickens from scratching about in them until they were banished from the garden for the spring/summer.

 Two unhappy, banished ladies (Silver-Laced Wyandotte and Ameracana)

 The lettuce/spinach bed...

 When the next cold snap comes along, plastic will cover the poles, protecting the tender shoots.

The onion bed.  This bed is crucial this year.  Last year, we grew enough for tomato sauce and salsa, but didn't have enough through the winter.  We're not sure what happened (the year before we had plenty), but we've switched varieties and are crossing our fingers.

Below we have a new garden pea experiment.  The past few years, we have planted our peas all along the garden fence.  This provided support for the peas, so there was no need for staking them.  Sounds ideal, right?  The un-ideal part was that stubborn grass would snake it's way under the fence from the yard and choke out some of the peas even with repeated attempts to hoe around the outside of the garden AND an attempt at laying cardboard down around the outside of the fence and partially underneath.

So, Jamey is feeling all brazen and crazy this year and he is going to plant our peas in one big bed.  This is not standard pea planting procedure, but it is an option according to The Vermont Bean and Seed Company, so we're going to give it a try. 

Giant garden pea bed.

In addition to planting, Jamey pruned our fruit trees (four-year-old peach and apple trees, a total of 10) and the red raspberry bushes.

 Red raspberry canes (about half of our total bushes).

He also uncovered our strawberry plants.  Strawberry plants get covered with mulch late in the fall to protect them from harsh freezes.  In the spring, they need to be uncovered.  They may appear dead to the world, but once the sun shines on them for a few days, they begin to green-up.  I can almost taste those first few sun-warmed strawberries.  Mmmmm.  Less drooling. More typing.

 Uncovered strawberry plants- hard to see now, but they're there.

While Jamey was out prepping the garden and planting, I tackled some of the flower beds close to the house, especially the beds and planters that will hold our herbs and ever-prolific mint.  We won't have to plant parsley this year.  All three of my parsley plants (which resembled bushes) wintered over and are starting to grow already.

So, we're off.  Now we wait and watch for sprouts, baby lettuces, asparagus and strawberries.  It's been quite awhile since we've had fresh produce and our taste buds are getting very excited at the prospect. Pin It