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 the freezing cool summer we've had this year lends itself to vines developing some sort of mildew.

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!

First Day of School!

Today is our first day EVER of homeschooling.  Shelby is in 3rd grade, and Hailey is in 5th.

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.

4 A thousand years in your sight
    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.

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.

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.

1. God is the main character. God / The Plan - His Exaltation / Angels / Why we are learning the character of God in the mornings
2. Satan tries to foil God's plan.  Satan / The Conflict / Demons /  Hell
3. 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. 
4. Humans fail to live God’s purpose.  The Fall
5. PROJECT WORK / REVIEW / TEST
6. God promised a solution to human’s failure.  The Promised Messiah / The WAY, TRUTH, LIFE / the High King
7. Humans resist living out God’s purpose.  The Tower of Babel / Refusal to live the purpose / Downward Spiral 
8. God invites us into relationship with Him.  Ex 19 - 20
9. God wants his people to live in a way that points to Him.  Deut 4:1-24
10. PROJECT WORK / REVIEW / TEST
11. God wants us to be different.  I Sam 8:20 - Be like the other nations ;  What is rebellion?
12. God wants us to be happy.  Deut 30:15-20/ Recap Ex 19 and Deut 4 / Rebellion / Authority
13. Humans choose misery.  The terrible effects of sin / Rom 3:23; Rom 6:23; Rom 5:8
14. 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
15. PROJECT WORK / REVIEW / TEST
16. Jesus rescues us from misery.  Eph 2:8-9
17. 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
18. We are royalty in God’s family.  Rev 1:5-6; Rev 5:9-10; Ruling / Reigning 
19. God gives his family two specific jobs.  The Great Command - Matt 22:36-40
20. PROJECT WORK / REVIEW / TEST
21. We are commanded to Love God.  Loving God - I John 5:3
22. We are commanded to Love Others.  Loving Others - I Cor 13:4-8
23. We are Christ’s bride.  Being part of the church, the bride of Christ, the Messiah
24. God talks to us through the Bible.  COMMON COMMUNICATION - Knowing how to use the Bible / gaining wisdome / respecting authority / being submissive
25. PROJECT WORK / REVIEW / TEST
26. 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; 
27. We will reap the consequences of our choices.  COMMON CONTRAST PART 2 - Psalm 23 - Two Paths Diagram; Choices / Consequences; Habits
28. We are to keep the cross in our minds.  COMMON CONQUEST - living cross - centered
29. God’s family hates God’s enemy.  COMMON CONFLICT - hating  and resisting Satan/ confessing sin to God and others / killing sin/ finding healing 
30. PROJECT WORK / REVIEW / TEST
31. God’s children do not live for themselves.  COMMON CONTRADICTION - denying self and living for others / eternal perspective
32. God’s family is active in a local church.  Functions of the church (duty and desire, worship, spiritual disciplines, discipleship, fellowship, service, evangelism); 
33. Life in the church - church discipline / baptism and the Lord’s Table
34. God’s family longs for their High King to come reign forever.  COMMON CONSUMMATION - Longing for Christ / Rev 19; ruling and reigning 
35. PROJECT / PROJECT COMPLETION AND PRESENTATION
36. REVIEW / TEST

I CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED!!!!!

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."  :-)

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.

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.

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!

First Egg!!!

First egg! YEAH, CHICKENS!

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!

Our Very First Butcher Experience

Before

After

Etiquette and Manners

I'm so excited!! The girls are have etiquette and manners class with this book this year with homeschool!

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.

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.

Cover!

I just approved the cover.  It looks so cool and professional!