Monday, December 16, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Friday, September 20, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Salsa!
About 12 years ago, when we first moved into our country home I explored how to make salsa using my Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. We received the cookbook as a wedding present, and I was a terrible cook, so I was trying to learn.
I made a salsa recipe that stunned my husband, which is saying a lot. For some reason that year, we had quite a lot of tomatoes. I made the salsa, and he just couldn't stop saying how wonderful it was, which was like a balm for my tender wife soul, since we both knew I was a terrible cook. Finally I had gotten something right. I didn't even know how to boil water when I got married. What a loser!
Anyways, "the" salsa got shared and consumed left and right 12 years ago, and before we even knew it, all of the jars of salsa were gone. We've longed for that salsa for 12 years, remembering how delicious it was then.
This February I planted almost 300 tomato heirloom tomato seedlings, hoping for a tomato harvest so abundant I could put up spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, tomato juice, stewed tomatoes, etc. Well, as happens, all 300 seedlings didn't make it, but almost 200 did, and I spent the late winter and early spring months dreaming of tomatoes. We built awesome tomato trellises for them to grow up. I purchased tomato clips. We checked on them regularly. But lo and behold, as has happened to every other tomato grower this year (except 2 of that I know) we got bright green bushes and marvelous green tomatoes, that refused to ripen.
It probably had something to do with the fact that this summer's temps were about 20 degrees lower than normal. You know...global warming and all.
Anyways, the last several weeks have been in the high 80's and 90's and finally we've been getting some ripe tomatoes. So spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, tomato juice, and stewed tomatoes aside....we canned the one thing we absolutely can not live without this year, after longing for it for 12 years....salsa.
Here's our famous recipe....actually it's Better Homes and Gardens, but it's awesome.
Chunky Salsa
7 pounds tomatoes (about 20 medium; you'll end up with about 14 cups), peeled and coarsely chopped (I don't ever chop them. I just squeeze them through my fingers.)
10 Anaheim peppers, seeded and chopped (about 3 cups)
3 Jalapeno, serrano, thai, or cayenne (whatever you like for heat) peppers, seeded and chopped (we don't seed ours to get a little extra heat)
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
about 4-8 ears of sweet corn, cut off the cob
1/2 cup snipped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup vinegar
5 - 10 cloves of garlic, depending on your taste
1 TBSPN sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1. If you like chunky salsa you can drain the tomatoes for about 30 minutes. Reserve the juice and make bloody mary's out of it to drink while you're laboring over the hot stove. :-) If you like juicier salsa, don't drain the tomatoes.
2. Bring tomatoes to boiling on a pot on the stove. Simmer, uncovered, 45-50 minutes or till thick and chunky, stirring frequently.
3. Stir in chili peppers, onions, corn, cilantro, vinegar, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper. Return to boiling.
4. Remove from heat.
Other options: I usually add garlic salt and lemon or lime juice. We like ours with a little bit of a kick. I've also considered adding beans, but I've never tried that yet. I also accidentally burned the salsa while it was boiling once, and it was the best recipe ever. For that reason, I've considered charring/blackening the corn for a little extra flavor before putting it in, but I've never tried that yet.
P.S. This recipe makes 4 pints of salsa. I've never in my life made this recipe the normal way. I quintuple (at a minimum) it at least. Usually I get about 10 quarts when I make my recipe.
Process in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes to preserve. 1/2 inch headspace.
I made a salsa recipe that stunned my husband, which is saying a lot. For some reason that year, we had quite a lot of tomatoes. I made the salsa, and he just couldn't stop saying how wonderful it was, which was like a balm for my tender wife soul, since we both knew I was a terrible cook. Finally I had gotten something right. I didn't even know how to boil water when I got married. What a loser!
Anyways, "the" salsa got shared and consumed left and right 12 years ago, and before we even knew it, all of the jars of salsa were gone. We've longed for that salsa for 12 years, remembering how delicious it was then.
This February I planted almost 300 tomato heirloom tomato seedlings, hoping for a tomato harvest so abundant I could put up spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, tomato juice, stewed tomatoes, etc. Well, as happens, all 300 seedlings didn't make it, but almost 200 did, and I spent the late winter and early spring months dreaming of tomatoes. We built awesome tomato trellises for them to grow up. I purchased tomato clips. We checked on them regularly. But lo and behold, as has happened to every other tomato grower this year (except 2 of that I know) we got bright green bushes and marvelous green tomatoes, that refused to ripen.
It probably had something to do with the fact that this summer's temps were about 20 degrees lower than normal. You know...global warming and all.
Anyways, the last several weeks have been in the high 80's and 90's and finally we've been getting some ripe tomatoes. So spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, tomato juice, and stewed tomatoes aside....we canned the one thing we absolutely can not live without this year, after longing for it for 12 years....salsa.
Here's our famous recipe....actually it's Better Homes and Gardens, but it's awesome.
Chunky Salsa
7 pounds tomatoes (about 20 medium; you'll end up with about 14 cups), peeled and coarsely chopped (I don't ever chop them. I just squeeze them through my fingers.)
10 Anaheim peppers, seeded and chopped (about 3 cups)
3 Jalapeno, serrano, thai, or cayenne (whatever you like for heat) peppers, seeded and chopped (we don't seed ours to get a little extra heat)
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
about 4-8 ears of sweet corn, cut off the cob
1/2 cup snipped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup vinegar
5 - 10 cloves of garlic, depending on your taste
1 TBSPN sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1. If you like chunky salsa you can drain the tomatoes for about 30 minutes. Reserve the juice and make bloody mary's out of it to drink while you're laboring over the hot stove. :-) If you like juicier salsa, don't drain the tomatoes.
2. Bring tomatoes to boiling on a pot on the stove. Simmer, uncovered, 45-50 minutes or till thick and chunky, stirring frequently.
3. Stir in chili peppers, onions, corn, cilantro, vinegar, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper. Return to boiling.
4. Remove from heat.
Other options: I usually add garlic salt and lemon or lime juice. We like ours with a little bit of a kick. I've also considered adding beans, but I've never tried that yet. I also accidentally burned the salsa while it was boiling once, and it was the best recipe ever. For that reason, I've considered charring/blackening the corn for a little extra flavor before putting it in, but I've never tried that yet.
P.S. This recipe makes 4 pints of salsa. I've never in my life made this recipe the normal way. I quintuple (at a minimum) it at least. Usually I get about 10 quarts when I make my recipe.
Process in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes to preserve. 1/2 inch headspace.
Peeling Tomatoes
I found a new and better way to peel tomatoes recently. I've always used the boiling water method, but it's kind of a pain, because I always burn myself. I think it also makes the tomatoes really juicy while you're trying to work with them, which I don't like.
Just this week I learned that you can take the backside of a knife and scrape all over the surface of the tomato. Then when you cut the core of the tomato out the skin basically just falls off the tomato. You might have to give it a little tug or pull with the sharp side of your knife, but it was pretty easy. It took a little bit of time, but I really liked this method better.
Here are a couple other sites where you can see other methods for peeling tomatoes:
http://www.home-ec101.com/how-to-peel-tomatoes-2-easy-methods/
http://theshiksa.com/2012/04/18/how-to-peel-tomatoes/
Just this week I learned that you can take the backside of a knife and scrape all over the surface of the tomato. Then when you cut the core of the tomato out the skin basically just falls off the tomato. You might have to give it a little tug or pull with the sharp side of your knife, but it was pretty easy. It took a little bit of time, but I really liked this method better.
Here are a couple other sites where you can see other methods for peeling tomatoes:
http://www.home-ec101.com/how-to-peel-tomatoes-2-easy-methods/
http://theshiksa.com/2012/04/18/how-to-peel-tomatoes/
Saturday, August 24, 2013
New Kinds of Pickles
Brian counted the other day, and we have about 90 quarts of homemade dill pickles or relish. Seeing as how that is a TON of dill pickles, with more than one quart per week for a whole years I decided to branch out and see if there was anything else we might be able to make.
We're not huge fans of sweet pickles, but I decided to give a couple "sweetish" recipes a shot. They turned out totally awesome! The kids kept coming back to the kitchen for more and more samples.
The first recipe was the Watermelon Rind Pickles. I remember having these as a kid, and they remind me so much of my mom, who was always telling us to save our watermelon rinds after eating them. I used the watermelon rind from the first melon from the garden. I made enough brine that I should be able to make several more pints.
The second recipe was a brand new one I found all on my own. It was for Sweet and Spicy Zucchini Pickles, and let me tell you....they're going to be a hit this winter. The girls couldn't get enough of the samples. Hopefully, we'll get a couple more good zucchinis, since I have plenty of brine for more. Our zucchini plants aren't doing that well lately, so who knows. It seems thefreezing cool summer we've had this year lends itself to vines developing some sort of mildew.
We're not huge fans of sweet pickles, but I decided to give a couple "sweetish" recipes a shot. They turned out totally awesome! The kids kept coming back to the kitchen for more and more samples.
The first recipe was the Watermelon Rind Pickles. I remember having these as a kid, and they remind me so much of my mom, who was always telling us to save our watermelon rinds after eating them. I used the watermelon rind from the first melon from the garden. I made enough brine that I should be able to make several more pints.
The second recipe was a brand new one I found all on my own. It was for Sweet and Spicy Zucchini Pickles, and let me tell you....they're going to be a hit this winter. The girls couldn't get enough of the samples. Hopefully, we'll get a couple more good zucchinis, since I have plenty of brine for more. Our zucchini plants aren't doing that well lately, so who knows. It seems the
Friday, August 23, 2013
Making Homemade Stuff
Last night at supper every single side dish was produced from our garden. It was very satisfying!
Last night after the kids went to bed I tried my friends homemade yogurt recipe. I just tasted my first bite, and it is awesome!
When I tasted it without sweetener I realized how much it was like sour cream, so I looked up how to make sour cream. Lo and behold, it's just as easy to make as yogurt.
Here's the recipe for sour cream I'm going to try. As a bonus it also tells you how to make cream cheese.
As a bonus, since you produce some whey from the cream cheese and yogurt process (if you make greek yogurt), I can also make ricotta! Here's my recipe.
A majority of our weekly grocery list is milk and milk products. I am so excited to learn how to make these three milk based things. And they are ALL so easy!
Last night after the kids went to bed I tried my friends homemade yogurt recipe. I just tasted my first bite, and it is awesome!
When I tasted it without sweetener I realized how much it was like sour cream, so I looked up how to make sour cream. Lo and behold, it's just as easy to make as yogurt.
Here's the recipe for sour cream I'm going to try. As a bonus it also tells you how to make cream cheese.
As a bonus, since you produce some whey from the cream cheese and yogurt process (if you make greek yogurt), I can also make ricotta! Here's my recipe.
A majority of our weekly grocery list is milk and milk products. I am so excited to learn how to make these three milk based things. And they are ALL so easy!
Monday, August 19, 2013
First Day of School!
Today is our first day EVER of homeschooling. Shelby is in 3rd grade, and Hailey is in 5th.
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We set up a little corner of our dining room to be our one room schoolhouse.
Our theme for the year is "Do Good."
Our theme verse are Galatians 6:7-10
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Our theme song is "Sow Mercy," which you can see below.
This week we are learning about God as "Eternal" and our memory verses are Psalm 90:2,4,12
2 Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
4 A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
12 Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Sewing Days
I finished the piecing for a quilt top I'm making someone on my Christmas list. I just need to sew on some appliques then I can start quilting. Now I have something to do in any quiet moments while the kids are doing their school work. I love modern designs! This one has lots of bohemian pieces. There will be a butterfly and its flight path applique'd in the large black area.
And I finished a skirt I've been promising Hailey for a couple weeks. Turned out pretty cool.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Bible Class!
The class I am the very most excited about is our daily Bible class. How can the kids be expected to be DOING stuff that they don't even KNOW?
Anyone who has ever had counseling with me will probably recognize so many of the topics that I am hoping and planning to cover this school year with the girls. All of those years of providing counseling for others and now I get to provide that content, refined and finessed by my time helping others, to my very own children. I am so blessed to have been able to have that training ground. I am so excited.
So here is my weekly plan for teaching. I don't really have curriculum. I'm just gonna teach the girls from the Bible, like I would do if I was discipling them through weekly biblical counseling and counseling homework assignments.
It's a lot of content, so the scope is going to be fairly elementary. It will be like a 30,000 foot flyover of the big picture of the purpose of life as a follower of Christ.
Anyone who has ever had counseling with me will probably recognize so many of the topics that I am hoping and planning to cover this school year with the girls. All of those years of providing counseling for others and now I get to provide that content, refined and finessed by my time helping others, to my very own children. I am so blessed to have been able to have that training ground. I am so excited.
So here is my weekly plan for teaching. I don't really have curriculum. I'm just gonna teach the girls from the Bible, like I would do if I was discipling them through weekly biblical counseling and counseling homework assignments.
It's a lot of content, so the scope is going to be fairly elementary. It will be like a 30,000 foot flyover of the big picture of the purpose of life as a follower of Christ.
- God is the main character. God / The Plan - His Exaltation / Angels / Why we are learning the character of God in the mornings
- Satan tries to foil God's plan. Satan / The Conflict / Demons / Hell
- God gave humans their purpose. Gen 1:26-28 - The Mandate / Image and Likeness / Fruitful and Multiply, Fill the Earth, Rule, Subdue / animals and plants purpose is to be subdued and ruled.
- Humans fail to live God’s purpose. The Fall
- PROJECT WORK / REVIEW / TEST
- God promised a solution to human’s failure. The Promised Messiah / The WAY, TRUTH, LIFE / the High King
- Humans resist living out God’s purpose. The Tower of Babel / Refusal to live the purpose / Downward Spiral
- God invites us into relationship with Him. Ex 19 - 20
- God wants his people to live in a way that points to Him. Deut 4:1-24
- PROJECT WORK / REVIEW / TEST
- God wants us to be different. I Sam 8:20 - Be like the other nations ; What is rebellion?
- God wants us to be happy. Deut 30:15-20/ Recap Ex 19 and Deut 4 / Rebellion / Authority
- Humans choose misery. The terrible effects of sin / Rom 3:23; Rom 6:23; Rom 5:8
- Jesus is the Messiah that humans have been waiting for. Jesus is here / The Promised Messiah has come to provide the way, who is the truth, and who is life - COMMON CONFESSION
- PROJECT WORK / REVIEW / TEST
- Jesus rescues us from misery. Eph 2:8-9
- We are so thankful that Jesus bought us into his family. I Peter 1:18-19, Phil 2:5-11, II Cor 5:14-15
- We are royalty in God’s family. Rev 1:5-6; Rev 5:9-10; Ruling / Reigning
- God gives his family two specific jobs. The Great Command - Matt 22:36-40
- PROJECT WORK / REVIEW / TEST
- We are commanded to Love God. Loving God - I John 5:3
- We are commanded to Love Others. Loving Others - I Cor 13:4-8
- We are Christ’s bride. Being part of the church, the bride of Christ, the Messiah
- God talks to us through the Bible. COMMON COMMUNICATION - Knowing how to use the Bible / gaining wisdome / respecting authority / being submissive
- PROJECT WORK / REVIEW / TEST
- God’s family lives differently. COMMON CONTRAST - we live different than the world / Vine and Branches / Walking in the Light / Eph 4:22-24 / Know and then Do;
- We will reap the consequences of our choices. COMMON CONTRAST PART 2 - Psalm 23 - Two Paths Diagram; Choices / Consequences; Habits
- We are to keep the cross in our minds. COMMON CONQUEST - living cross - centered
- God’s family hates God’s enemy. COMMON CONFLICT - hating and resisting Satan/ confessing sin to God and others / killing sin/ finding healing
- PROJECT WORK / REVIEW / TEST
- God’s children do not live for themselves. COMMON CONTRADICTION - denying self and living for others / eternal perspective
- God’s family is active in a local church. Functions of the church (duty and desire, worship, spiritual disciplines, discipleship, fellowship, service, evangelism);
- Life in the church - church discipline / baptism and the Lord’s Table
- God’s family longs for their High King to come reign forever. COMMON CONSUMMATION - Longing for Christ / Rev 19; ruling and reigning
- PROJECT / PROJECT COMPLETION AND PRESENTATION
- REVIEW / TEST
I CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED!!!!!
Friday, August 9, 2013
Anaheim Peppers
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/how-toroast-green-chilies/
http://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Red_Anaheim_Chile_Peppers_812.php
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27582
I planted Anaheim peppers to make salsa with, but our tomatoes are so slow in ripening that we have a bunch of peppers mature now and don't know what to do with them. So here's my research on taking care of that "problem." :-)
http://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Red_Anaheim_Chile_Peppers_812.php
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27582
I planted Anaheim peppers to make salsa with, but our tomatoes are so slow in ripening that we have a bunch of peppers mature now and don't know what to do with them. So here's my research on taking care of that "problem." :-)
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Shoofly Cake
I'm mostly posting this blog entry for me, because I don't want to lose this awesome recipe.
We grew up eating this cake a lot, but I have never made it. I decided to make it tonight for the family. It was delicious!
Here's the recipe.
We grew up eating this cake a lot, but I have never made it. I decided to make it tonight for the family. It was delicious!
Here's the recipe.
Pickled Eggplant?
I don't know....but I'm trying this recipe today.
It's pouring, so I've got to keep myself busy inside today.
Hope it's good!
Update at 6:30 pm....Holy Cow! Who would have thought that such a weird simple recipe would be so delicious? I cautiously took one bite SURE that it would be gross...after all how can mint plus garlic plus eggplant be good? But boy, was it delicious. Here's what it looks like, but this is not my photo.
It's pouring, so I've got to keep myself busy inside today.
Hope it's good!
Update at 6:30 pm....Holy Cow! Who would have thought that such a weird simple recipe would be so delicious? I cautiously took one bite SURE that it would be gross...after all how can mint plus garlic plus eggplant be good? But boy, was it delicious. Here's what it looks like, but this is not my photo.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Birthday girl!
Shelby had a birthday present on backorder. It finally came today, and she has been wearing ever since.
She's so excited for it to be pool time!
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Life is Good!
We're having a SUPER day! Yesterday it rained slow and steady for a couple hours, and today it's hot, which means our garden is growing right now. The days that are the most uncomfortable for us are the ones that are best for the vegetables, so bring on the humidity.
We started today off by getting a food dehydrator worth around $100 from Craigslist for $25. It had been used ONCE. Score! I brought it home, washed it, and already have zucchini drying on it.
I spent a couple hours continuing with our homeschool organization, and I feel really ready and excited. We were going to wait until September to start after Labor Day, but the kids keep begging to start early. We'll see. I'm not convinced of what to do either way, so for now I'll just keep organizing and planning. I can't believe how much I love school planning. I hope we all love the realization of the planning!
After lunch one of the kids cleaned the bathroom and the other kid learned how to clean out and organize the fridge. They were both freakishly delighted to do their assigned chore, which did brighten my day a bit.
To top it off, these beautiful flowers are from my garden and a clean house awaits our beloved daddy when he walks in the door after work. Can't get better than this!
Monday, August 5, 2013
Etiquette and Manners
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Archery Prodigy!
Shelby has been making bows and arrows out of sticks and duct tape as long as I can remember. For her 8th birthday, we got her a REAL compound bow, and she is awesome with it! She is going to be a bow pro just like her dad.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Carrot Day!
Today we all worked together to harvest and preserve our carrots. These are our purple carrots. We ended up with 39 pints of sliced or mini whole carrots. That should make us pretty happy in the winter time.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Birthday Sleepover Scavenger Hunt
I'm pretty stoked about this Scavenger Hunt list. I should get a little bit of piece and quiet in the house while they search for these things.
Monday, July 29, 2013
8th Birthday Present
For as long as I can remember Shelby has been making a bow and arrow out of sticks and duct tape. We thought it was time for her to get a real one.
English Shepherd Nap Time
Apparently, this is very common for English Shepherds. They prefer to sleep on their backs and lie on their tummies.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Solo Camping
I camped with the girls on the way home from PA.
Sleeping arrangements.
Baking potatoes and smores
Supper time
Our site
Friday, July 26, 2013
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
iPod and DS Gaming Rules for the Wallace Children
I'm kind of sick of doing all the work, or having bad attitudes when I ask for help. So I'm going to make the kids earn their free time. This list must be completed each time, and verified for authenticity of actions, prior to even asking to play iPod or DS.
"The" rules:
#1. It must be after 3 pm. Don't even ask if it is before 3 pm.
#2. You must have done your daily devotions and had private prayer time, and your personal time with God must have lasted at least 15 minutes. Set a timer, so you're sure it lasted that long. Don't guess at the time.
#3. Your bedroom must be clean perfectly (including your drawers), and mommy needs to check it.
#4. Your bed needs to be neatly made.
#5. All clean clothes from today's laundry must be neatly put away.
#6. You must have worked at least 4 hours with mommy doing whatever she tells you to do. For every hour that you work with a good attitude, without complaint, you may earn 30 minutes of iPod or DS time. The maximum amount of time you can earn is 2 hours.
#7. You must walk through the Living Room, Dining Room, Bathroom, Kitchen, Laundry Room, and Hall and pick up and properly put away all of your personal belongings.
#8. You must walk through the Living Room, Dining Room, Bathroom, Kitchen, Laundry Room, and Hall and straighten, clean, put away, or pick up at least 3 items that belong to someone else.
#9. All the shoes on the porch must be in a straight line.
#10. You must tell your sister 3 things you love about her, and these must be new things each day.
P.S. When mommy goes to bed each night she will check to see if you left out any of your electronic equipment (including iPod, DS, games, transfer cords, charging cords, etc), and she will confiscate anything that was left out. You will lose your electronic privileges the next day. You must buy your equipment out of the confiscation bin by doing one extra chore of mommy's choosing for each item you'd like to buy back.
Another P.S. If you'd like to earn 15 extra minutes of iPod or DS time you may present a written list of 10 things for which you are thankful, for which you have never before been thankful. It must be written, and it must be neat. It must have your name and the date on the top right corner. Mommy must approve the list before the extra 15 minutes are used.
"The" rules:
#1. It must be after 3 pm. Don't even ask if it is before 3 pm.
#2. You must have done your daily devotions and had private prayer time, and your personal time with God must have lasted at least 15 minutes. Set a timer, so you're sure it lasted that long. Don't guess at the time.
#3. Your bedroom must be clean perfectly (including your drawers), and mommy needs to check it.
#4. Your bed needs to be neatly made.
#5. All clean clothes from today's laundry must be neatly put away.
#6. You must have worked at least 4 hours with mommy doing whatever she tells you to do. For every hour that you work with a good attitude, without complaint, you may earn 30 minutes of iPod or DS time. The maximum amount of time you can earn is 2 hours.
#7. You must walk through the Living Room, Dining Room, Bathroom, Kitchen, Laundry Room, and Hall and pick up and properly put away all of your personal belongings.
#8. You must walk through the Living Room, Dining Room, Bathroom, Kitchen, Laundry Room, and Hall and straighten, clean, put away, or pick up at least 3 items that belong to someone else.
#9. All the shoes on the porch must be in a straight line.
#10. You must tell your sister 3 things you love about her, and these must be new things each day.
P.S. When mommy goes to bed each night she will check to see if you left out any of your electronic equipment (including iPod, DS, games, transfer cords, charging cords, etc), and she will confiscate anything that was left out. You will lose your electronic privileges the next day. You must buy your equipment out of the confiscation bin by doing one extra chore of mommy's choosing for each item you'd like to buy back.
Another P.S. If you'd like to earn 15 extra minutes of iPod or DS time you may present a written list of 10 things for which you are thankful, for which you have never before been thankful. It must be written, and it must be neat. It must have your name and the date on the top right corner. Mommy must approve the list before the extra 15 minutes are used.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Cheese Success!
Making mozzarella and ricotta today was a HUGE success!!!!!! I'm so happy. Praise God that the process worked this time. The last time I tried to make cheese, it was not such a success.
My ultimate dream is this....CHEDDAR CHEESE!! I would have to invest in a couple supplies, but I did just find out we have the PERFECT basement for aging cheese. I had just been lamenting the fact that our basement was a waste of space, because it's so cold and damp. Well, apparently, that is the perfect environment for making cheddar cheese. Who knew!
Can't wait to try it out!
I also recently found this article that shows lots of ways to use whey. In the video I watched for mozzarella, the girl just threw the whey down the drain. I almost died. I couldn't believe it. That is such a protein-packed beneficial part of milk.
My ultimate dream is this....CHEDDAR CHEESE!! I would have to invest in a couple supplies, but I did just find out we have the PERFECT basement for aging cheese. I had just been lamenting the fact that our basement was a waste of space, because it's so cold and damp. Well, apparently, that is the perfect environment for making cheddar cheese. Who knew!
Can't wait to try it out!
I also recently found this article that shows lots of ways to use whey. In the video I watched for mozzarella, the girl just threw the whey down the drain. I almost died. I couldn't believe it. That is such a protein-packed beneficial part of milk.
Making Cheese
Tonight we're making cheese!!!! We're using this recipe. I've tried it before, but it didn't turn out so well. So I watched this video to get a better perspective. I feel like this time I can do it! I really like the girl in the video and the company that makes them. I learned how to plant and harvest my wheat by watching another one of her videos.
After we make the mozzarella, we'll use the whey to make ricotta using this recipe.
On Saturday, we'll use the leftover whey to make bread for the week, using this recipe. It's the absolute BEST bread recipe I've ever tried. The whole family loves it, and I think it tastes best when you use buttermilk or whey to make it. Instead of making two loaves with the recipe, I usually make three. Otherwise the bread is so big little people can't finish a whole sandwich.
After we make the mozzarella, we'll use the whey to make ricotta using this recipe.
On Saturday, we'll use the leftover whey to make bread for the week, using this recipe. It's the absolute BEST bread recipe I've ever tried. The whole family loves it, and I think it tastes best when you use buttermilk or whey to make it. Instead of making two loaves with the recipe, I usually make three. Otherwise the bread is so big little people can't finish a whole sandwich.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Final Approval for Manuscript!
Months ago I was asked to write a booklet about Anxiety and Panic Attacks. I had never been published before, so I was unaware of all of the parts of the process.
I feverishly wrote and edited during my final months as Vision of Hope, sending in my manuscripts at different points of the editing process with just minutes to spare before the deadlines arrived. It was a very exciting and humbling process, and I am very thankful for the wonderful editors and their helpful changes.
This booklet looks very different than my original version, but I think it is good and will be helpful for those that struggle with anxiety or panic attacks.
I'd honestly forgotten that I'd written this until the FedEx person dropped off my "Extremely Urgent" package, which was the final edition for approval before the booklet goes to print. It should come out in October.
What a fun way to end today!
After livestock chores this morning, we spent the morning repairing storm damage to our garden from yesterday's straight line winds, and that was honestly a little discouraging. In just minutes, hours and hours of work and months and months of growth were destroyed. We spent some time praying in the garden out loud together that God would spare our garden from more damage.
After that I canned dill relish while Hailey cleaned the bathroom and then both girls cleaned their bedrooms. I had to redo one of the pints of dill relish because I had screwed on the ring too tight, and the lid buckled and caused an imperfect seal. I also realized that my new canning pot takes longer to come to a boil than I previously thought, which was discouraging because it makes all of the process longer. I also put away all of my canned items. For the hours and hours of work that I've done this week, I only had 10 quarts of vegetables. It was a lot of work, and each step took twice as long as it should have because I kind of don't know what I'm doing.
So on a week where every day has been full of failures and redos, it was good to be reminded that failures and redos are ok. I got the final copy of my booklet that was rewritten many times, and the effort was worth it. I don't know how to can very well. I am going to screw up. I hope that I don't kill our family with food poisoning in the process. Hopefully, God will protect us from my inexperience and bless my efforts as fumbling and ignorant as they are.
Now we are rewarding ourselves for all of our hard work with a trip to the pool!
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Beets!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Day of Failures!
So today was a day of failures other than the butter, which turned out good, ...but at least we tried!
Attempt #1 (which I've made tons of times)...Bread. I got caught up in pickle making and forgot about it, and it overrose in this hot humid air. Now it is defeated. The verdict is still out on how it tastes.
This is Hailey kneading it. It was her first time to knead it completely by herself.
Here is our pick from the garden this morning. This is our first cucumber harvest.
Here we are with our friend, Jenn, who usually comes to the farm on Tuesdays to be a country girl. Here we are adding the spices to our pickle jars.
Unfortunately, this is the only jar of pickles that sealed. One broke in the canner. Four didn't seal. But they do look pretty, and we will enjoy them from the refrigerator. I do need to figure out why they didn't seal and rectify that situation though. I'm not about to heat my kitchen up to 95 degrees and not end up with a pantry full of food for this winter. This jar looks awesome. I made it extra spicy for Brian.
On top of this, our goats got out of the fence for the first time, and thankfully, as far as I know, they did not get into the garden.
There's always tomorrow. I believe tomorrow I'll try a slice of the bread and decide whether it's fit for human consumption or not. Thankfully, it wasn't made with the wheat I am growing. I would probably cry if I had to throw out bread made from hand raised wheat.
And tomorrow I'll check the garden for signs of goat munching. If I find any, you'll know....by the bloodcurdling scream coming from my direction.
There's always tomorrow. I believe tomorrow I'll try a slice of the bread and decide whether it's fit for human consumption or not. Thankfully, it wasn't made with the wheat I am growing. I would probably cry if I had to throw out bread made from hand raised wheat.
And tomorrow I'll check the garden for signs of goat munching. If I find any, you'll know....by the bloodcurdling scream coming from my direction.
Making Butter
This morning we made butter.
I love our old fashioned refrigerator dishes.
We use the leftover buttermilk when we make bread, which is our next task today.
Making Pickles
There's just nothing quite like seeing someone do something you don't know how to do. I've read at least a 10 recipes for making pickles, and I even remember vaguely seeing my mom make pickles when I was a kid. But now that there's cucumbers in the garden begging to be picked, and I actually need to make them up I was feeling a little bit nervous about doing it by myself.
So YouTube came to the rescue again! Here's the video I watched to learn how to make dill pickles.
So YouTube came to the rescue again! Here's the video I watched to learn how to make dill pickles.
I'm nervous, but excited. My friend, Jenn, is coming over today to help us on the farm, and I think the first thing we'll do today is turn some of our cucumbers into pickles together! I'll let you know how it goes.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Moving the Old Grass Pile
Yes, that is Hailey showing me how big her muscle is.
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