Thursday, July 31, 2008

Peaches, Part 1 (Pie, Baked Oatmeal & Canned Pie Filling)

This summer, Jamey works every other weekend, so his days off tend to be during the week. Today he was home and lucky for me (and the garden), it's been raining all day. This means he's not working on outside projects. He was in helping me. It took a little while for me to get used to another grown-up body in my kitchen while I was buzzing around, chanting numbers out loud so I wouldn't forget how much of what to put where. Soon, we found a rhythm and all was good.

We bought three bushels of peaches. Two of the bushels are Red Havens and not yet ripe. The third, was a bushel of Century (I don't know if I have the spelling right). I was thrilled to hear from the orchard man that it "needs to be dealt with now" and therefore was half off. Well. What I understood as 'they are very ripe' really meant, 'they are half unripe and half rotten'. My good friend, Mama JJ (check out her blog- it's my favorite), was pulling out as we were pulling in and was also "blessed" with a bushel of Century. After I got over my frustration with the situation, I did what everyone MUST do FIRST after getting peaches. I made a pie.

It makes your kitchen smell fabulous and no matter what happens during the course of your day, at least you will have dessert for dinner (either way you read that is fine).

Peach Pie (This is my mom's recipe and is very simple.)

6-8 peaches, peeled and sliced
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp. butter, melted
9-inch deep dish pie crust

Slice the peaches directly into the pie crust, filling the crust to almost overflowing (the peaches will bake down). In a bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and melted butter with a fork to form crumbs. Spoon crumbs on top of peaches and into crevices. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then 350 degrees for another 20 minutes. Pie is done when crumbs and crust start to brown. Let sit for 20-30 minutes to allow the juices to absorb.

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We eat baked oatmeal for breakfast every morning. In the winter, we eat it warmed-up and in the summer, we eat it cold. I always throw in some sort of fruit (diced apples, raisins, blueberries, red raspberries, etc.). We had just ran out this morning, so Jamey made the oatmeal with peaches.


Baked Oatmeal (Company Version)

For a Healthier, Daily Version: decrease sugar to 2 cups, baking powder to 2 tsp., omit the butter completely and add 2-3 tbsp. flax seed.

When fresh fruit is in season, top the oatmeal with the fruit instead of baking it in. Also, it's delicious with thawed crushed (previously frozen) strawberries (no sugar added) on top.

2 1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted
6 eggs
3 cups milk
9 cups rolled oats (NOT quick oats)
2 cups dried or fresh fruit- blueberries, raspberries, wineberries, ground cherries (increase sugar by 1/4 cup since these are a bit sour), chopped peaches, apples, raisins or any combination

Using a large bowl, combine ingredients in the order listed above, stirring after each addition or so. Spread into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Do not over bake. It is best right out of the oven, but reheats well in the microwave. Can be eaten cold or warmed, with or without milk poured over it.

Update 12/06/09: For a special breakfast, add 1 tsp. ground ginger, 1/3 cup cocoa powder and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Oh, my. It's yummy and still good for you.

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We then commenced to peel and chop up our bushel of half-unripe, half-rotten peaches. There's no way to let them ripen, unless you are looking for a fruit fly plague to descend upon your house. We started with jam (11 jars).


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And then moved on to peach pie filling (7 pints). Those dark spots are raisins.


Peach Pie Filling (adapted slightly from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Makes 6-7 pints.  For general canning instructions, read here.   While this filling is nice in pie, our favorite way to use it is in this cake.

1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp. whole cloves (I use ground cloves)
12 cups sliced, pitted, and peeled peaches, treated to prevent browning and drained
2 cups finely chopped and peeled apples, treated to prevent browning and drained
2 2/3 cups white sugar
1 cup golden raisins (I used regular raisins)
2 tbsp. lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

In a large stainless steel pot or saucepan, combine peaches, apples, sugar, raisins, lemon zest and juice, vinegar, nutmeg and cinnamon stick.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring frequently.  Reduce heat, cover and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until thickened.  

Meanwhile, prepare canner, jars and lids.  Ladle hot pie filling into hot jars leaving 1 inch of headspace.  Remove air bubbles with a knife.  Wipe rim, center hot lid on jar, screw on ring until finger-tip tight.  Place jars in canner, covering with water.  Bring to a boil and process for 15 minutes.  Remove canner lid and wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

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Here are (most of) our Red Havens, waiting to ripen upstairs in the office. If they were downstairs, my children would soon be in hand-cuffs or have their hands tied behind their backs.

While I was finishing up with the pie filling, Jamey started and canned another
8 quarts of Sweet and Sour cucumber salad.

Did you know he's my hero?


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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

My Favorite Summer Sandwich

Yes, I am posting at 1-something in the morning. I had a headache earlier this evening and took Excedrin, THE headache medicine for me. Unfortunately, it contains caffeine, which I almost never consume. Thus, I am wide awake at 1am- the perfect time to post!

When I was a kid, I couldn't believe what my mom ate for lunch during the summer. Ok, please don't gag. She toasted two pieces of whole wheat bread, then spread peanut butter on one slice and mayo on the other. Then she sliced a fresh tomato and laid it in between the two. I thought it disgusting and, in my know-it-all kid ways, told her I would NEVER eat such a thing.

Guess what. Two summers ago, I tried it. I don't know why, but I did. And I love it! During tomato season, this is my lunch. Every day. For those of you who know me pretty well, I am sure I have told you about this before. Some of you have been brave enough to try it and there have been varying responses. No one has said they hate it (although, they might be trying to spare my feelings) and whole families have loved it. Why don't you try it?

I dare you:-).

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Zucchini Bread

This morning, I dropped Sam off at his friend's house for the morning. He has been friends with this sweet girl since they were about one and a half years old. Since that time they have had almost weekly play dates together, going back and forth between our two houses. She is homeschooled as well, so even during the school year, we still arrange visits. Sam considers her his best friend (after Sadie, he says).

Sadie and I came back to the house. While she played in the sink (her favorite activity, just ahead of playing on the swings), I made another batch of zucchini bread (12 loaves). This is a great way to use up all the zucchini that seems to float about this time of year. It freezes really well and is a cinch to defrost (2 minutes, unwrapped in my microwave). It pairs perfectly with fall and winter soups. If you don't grow zucchini yourself, I bet you'll come across someone who is giving the stuff away. Or, head down to your farmer's market and pick up a few. Last year, all our zucchini plants got eaten by some kind of borer. I bought large, beautiful zucchini at our farmer's market for only 25 cents each.



Another thing I do with zucchini (which is way easier than making bread) is to chop it up into bite-size pieces and throw it into ziploc bags for the freezer. It's all ready to be tossed into soups and casseroles straight from the freezer.

Zucchini Bread (from my college roommate, Anna)
Makes 2 loaves.

Healthier Variations: You can easily cut back on the sugar a bit.  You can also substitute a 1/2 cup applesauce for 1/2 cup of oil. Would you like zero oil?  If so, you can substitute 1 cup cooked pureed pumpkin for the oil (as celebrated here).  
Zucchini-Blueberry Variation: To put it over the top, fold in two cups fresh or frozen blueberries at the end of the recipe.
Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Variation:  Fold in two cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips at the end of the recipe.
Chocolate Zucchini Variation:  Substitute 3/4 cup cocoa for 1/2 cup of the white flour.

3 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar (or less)
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated zucchini
3 tsp. vanilla
2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. cinnamon

Combine wet ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, combine dry ingredients. SIFT the dry into the wet and stir until well mixed. Divide into 2 greased loaf pans (9x5x3) and bake at 350 degrees for and hour (or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean). Cool completely on racks, remove and wrap in plastic wrap and then foil if freezing.

I hate sifting, but it is a must in this recipe, otherwise you will get clumps of flour in your loaves. Pin It

Monday, July 28, 2008

First Tomato Sauce

This weekend, I realized that I had finally accumulated enough tomatoes do something more with them than just eat them in sandwiches and incorporate them into dinner. So, I decided to start with tomato sauce this afternoon. Currently I have two favorite sauce recipes. One of them is the one I started with today. It's called Basic Tomato sauce and can be found in Simply In Season. Here is my sink full of romas.

I don't think this recipe should be called 'basic" because it's too wonderful. It's a chunky sauce that calls for lots of green bell peppers, fresh herbs, chopped (not pureed) tomatoes and, my favorite part, grated carrots! What a great way to get more veggies into kids! Here is my ready-to-go bowl of grated carrots and peppers.
We grew two kind of carrots this year- yellow and orange. Sorry, I don't know their official names. We also planted some of the five-stubby-fingered variety and the three-long-and-skinny-fingered variety. Just kidding. This is just what carrots do sometimes- at least ours, anyway.
I regret not having taken a picture of the sauce in the pot- it is such a pretty sauce with all it's colors. Here it is cooling on the counter. Thirteen quarts of it.
I must say that my favorite part about making this sauce today was that I didn't peel the tomatoes. Gasp!! Can you believe it!? Removing the skins is an easy task if you are using a strainer (a.k.a. squeezo or victoria) and making a smoother sauce. That doesn't fly if you want a chunky sauce. In order to remove the skins without a strainer you need to plunge your tomatoes in boiling water for five minutes or so (to loosen the skins), then plunge them into ice water (to stop the cooking and make them easier to handle), then peel off the skins and chop them up. Well, this morning we went over to visit some of our dear friends who have just recently moved. My friend told me that last year when she made this tomato sauce, she's pretty sure she left the skins on and it turned out fine. WELL. I gave it a whirl and NO MORE will I peel tomatoes for this sauce (thank you, Carmen!!). It saved a lot of time and we can all use a little extra fiber, right? Pin It

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Out of the Mouths of Sadie and Sam

Jamey likes the show, The Simpsons. He used to watch it a lot. So, this past Father's Day, I let Sam choose one of the three Simpsons-themed Father's Day cards that our grocery store carried. The one Sam chose had Homer on the front, being tackled by Bart and it read, "Fathers are important because children's lives are at stake." On the inside it read, "Mmmmmm...steak."
Fast forward to yesterday lunch. Sadie and Sam were finishing their lunch and I was copying down a recipe. I messed something up and put my head in my hands, groaning. Sadie asked, "Mommy hurt?" and I said, "No, I just made a mistake." To which Sadie replied, "Mmmmmm...steak."

On to dinner yesterday. I have started reading a book about Menno Simons and Sam was asking me about it. Seeing a teachable moment, I began to explain who Menno Simons was and how the Mennonites came to be. After some discussion, Jamey asked Sam, "So, do you know any Mennonites other than us?" Sam said, "Well...Lucy and Elijah go to our church." (friends of Sam, not their real names). Jamey said, "That's right. So what does that make them?" Sam replied, "Primates". Right away he realized his goof and we all had a good laugh.

What a day. Pin It

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Why We Do What We Do

This post is for those of you who wonder why we do what we do. For those of you who are now wondering, "What do they do?" here is a brief explanation:

We grow/raise about 80%a of all the produce and animal products (with the exception of milk, butter and cheese) we eat all year long. If we don't grow it, we try to buy it locally.

Sour cherries.

If we can't buy it locally, we ask ourselves, 'do we really need it?' Often we don't. If we do, we buy it at our local, non-chain grocery store. We try to keep all other non-produce/animal product-food purchases to a minimum (flour, sugar, peanut butter, spices, etc. are allowed). This is why I am in a putting-up frenzy this time of year.

Here are a few (ok, more than a few) reasons why we do what we do:

We are in awe of God's creation. The miracle of watching a seed become a plant, produce flowers, bear fruit and yield seed is amazing. The sheer variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs that have been created for our pleasure is overwhelming. We want to respect and relish this by participating in the process first hand.

For our children. We believe that organic homegrown food is healthier. It's picked at peak ripeness and untouched by chemicals. Therefore it's tastier. We want our kids to enjoy eating fruits and vegetables. Who can enjoy (or learn to enjoy) eating a mealy pink tomato or an unnaturally hard and tasteless pear?

We want to teach them patience along with an appreciation for what they have to eat. This means waiting for spring if you want asparagus. And, waiting for late summer if you want tomatoes and watermelon. Earlier this summer, I handed Sam a small bowl of strawberries and told him to share them with Sadie, explaining that these were our last strawberries. He took them in to her and I could overhear him telling her, "Sadie, these are our last strawberries. We won't see them again until next year." I would like to note, he wasn't complaining. Just explaining. He was, in part, incorrect, but the spirit of what he said was dead on (There is a lot of frozen crushed strawberries and jam in our freezer that they will see before next year).



It's in our blood. Both Jamey and I come from gardeners and farmers. I bet it's in your blood, too. If you look.

My double-burner, 8 quart canner inherited from my grandmother.




We want to tread softly. I don't know who coined the phrase 'tread softly' but it explains how we feel. By not buying produce that has to be trucked to us from miles away or flown to us from other countries, we are minimizing resources used. Our kids aren't deprived. I would venture to say that they eat more fruit (and more of a variety of fruit) throughout the year than most. We did buy a few bananas for Sam last Christmas. He hadn't complained about not having them, he just put them on his Christmas list. We bend our rules for very special occasions.

We want to live simply in order to give.  This is a reason that has been here all along (at least under the surface), but officially became an integral component to this blog in September, 2010.   We strive to live simply so that we are able to give to causes that have dual purposes- those that provide aid (water, food, clothes, shelter) as well as the message of Christ.  You can read more about this reason/purpose here where you will also find a list of related posts on the topic.

These values have taken several years to develop. In case you are interested, a few of our MANY inspirations have come from...

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingslover

Revolution in World Missions by K.P. Yohannon (request a free book here)

"The End of Suburbia", a documentary carried by Netflix. (Thank you, Laura!!)

The British series, "The Good Life". Also carried by Netflix

See You in a Hundred Years by Logan Ward

Path to Freedom's blog and website

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

Family and friends who have supported us and inspired us to try growing new things.

So! When you read my posts and are confused by the quantities and frequency of my canning, freezing, etc, thinking, "They are only a family of four!" maybe you'll remember why we do what we do and understand (or at least understand just a little:-)).



Pickled red beets canned this morning.
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Friday, July 25, 2008

Pesto

I decided I should make another batch of pesto before I get peaches and before the tomatoes start pouring in. Last year, I had to make swiss chard pesto (pretty good, but not as good as the basil variety) because the few basil plants I had flopped. This past winter, I told Jamey, "I want a whole row of basil in the garden." He obliged (thank you, honey) and as you can see below, I have lots of basil. I also have about 8 plants by my back door in a flower bed. To the right of the basil are our green beans and to the left, sweet potatoes.




I use the pesto recipe from the Simply in Season cookbook. Except, I add more salt, less olive oil and replace the pine nuts (I never have them and they are really expensive) with whatever nuts I have on hand. Today it was a combination of English walnuts from my grandmother and store bought pecans and almonds. Here are my three batches- each batch is the recipe times five. I had over half of a bushel of basil, ok?




I freeze most of the pesto in ice cube trays and pop them out into ziploc bags when they are frozen. The rest I freeze in small containers. If you are curious, this batch made the three ice cube trays, plus 7 more cups.

Pesto pizza is on the menu for tonight: wholewheat crust brushed with pesto and topped with fresh sliced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.

If you live close to me and would like some basil, please call me. I barely made a dent in my row.



Pesto (Adapted from Simply in Season)

This recipe yields about 1 cup of pesto.

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup nuts (whatever you have on hand: pine nuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds, etc. or a combination)
3-6 tbsp. parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, processing small batches if needed. Adjust amount of olive oil as needed to obtain the consistency you prefer. Freeze in ice cube trays (described above) to preserve.
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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Sweet Sam

Especially for those of you who know him, I had to share.

I was sitting in our living room visiting with my neighbor and Sam came into the room, laid/half-crawled onto my lap and snuggled in. Then he announced,

"Planet Mommy. The planet of love."

Sigh.... Pin It

Called Back Through Jeremiah Part II


Reading on, into chapter three, I find hope...

"'Return, faithless Israel,' declares the Lord, 'I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful'...'Only acknowledge your guilt'... 3:12 & 13

"Return faithless people...for I am your husband. I will choose you..." 3:14

"If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, 'Surely as the Lord lives,' then the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will glory." 4:1 & 2

Now, I haven't read to the end of Jeremiah yet (and if I've read this book before, I don't remember the ending). After being called on their disobedience in chapters one and two, they should JUMP at the chance to return.

In the spirit of 'putting your detestable idols out of my sight', I am reminded of something I found on line years ago. I cannot remember where I found it and what I printed out doesn't have an author listed. I can post this, because I watch TV myself. I am not trying to guilt anyone into stopping, BUT there are some very valid points here to consider, in my opinion. (My, this blog has gotten very serious all of a sudden!)

"A Modern Psalm taken from 'The New International Unchristian Perversion"

The TV is my shepherd, I shall not want anything else. It maketh me to lie down on the sofa. It leadeth me away from the Scripture. It destroys my soul. It leadeth me in the paths of sex and violence for the sponsor's sake, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will enjoy the evil, for blood and sex they excite me. It's cable and remote, they comfort me. It prepares a commercial before me in the presence of my children. It anoints my head with humanism, My coveting runneth over. Surely laziness and ignorance shall follow my family all the days of our lives , and we shall dwell in the house watching TV forever."

My first response, after reading this again, was to get defensive. Why would I defend TV? Hmmmm. I've got more work to do than I thought:-). Pin It

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Called Back Through Jeremiah


My relationship with Christ has not been what it should be. For months, even years, I have gone through long periods where I breathe small prayers of thanks and petition for others when it suits me, avoiding deliberate prayer time and Bible reading. Recently, I have felt a weighty conviction to change this, but I continued to avoid it, siting the busyness of the season, pushing it back, behind all my other 'important' tasks (including, of late, posting here).

Today, I was drawn to my Bible. It was inevitable that I would read it. Why the avoidance? What am I afraid of? What (or who) is making me afraid? I breathed a prayer, requesting forgiveness for my blatant avoidance and randomly opened my Bible to Jeremiah.

Jeremiah was called, by God, to warn Judah about it's wickedness, it's idolatry. I started at the beginning of the book and all throughout the first three chapters felt as if I was being spoken to directly.

"I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me..." 2:2

"They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves." 2:5

"But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols, Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror, declares the Lord." 2:11 & 12

"Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me, declares the Lord Almighty." 2:19

"Does a maiden forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number." 2:32

"If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers- would you now return to me?" 3:1

My idols have been many. It is easy to say, "Oh, don't be so hard on yourself. It's normal to have hobbies and interests". Yes, but when those hobbies and interests come before my time with the Lord, they become idols. And they have.

So, today I am thankful. Not just for the bounty of our garden or for the rain, but for God's Word that calls me back TODAY, even though it was written long ago. And, I am thankful because Jesus died for me and my sins. Because of this, I am not condemned (by Jeremiah 3:1, above) to a defiled relationship with God. Because of Jesus, I CAN return. Forgiven. And with His grace, start anew. Pin It

A Busy Morning

This morning I made another big batch of zucchini bread and pie crusts. I have had a good zucchini bread recipe for a long time. Until this morning, I was not happy with my pie crust recipe. It is my mom's recipe and is called "Fool-proof pie crust". Ha! It works so well for my mom. I remember, so clearly, watching her roll out her pale, thin dough on the counter. I had visions of it working just as well for me a couple months back when I decided to start making my own crust.

I tried her recipe, substituting in some whole wheat flour. It did not go as well. So, like with almost all the recipes I use, I started to fiddle with it. Now, after the third try, I have what works for me. We eat a lot of quiche around here and when I need a dessert for something, I usually make a pie since I have a lot of fruit in my freezer. I make a large batch every time so I don't have to do it as often.


My Pie Crust (adapted from my mom's recipe)

Note: I go into quite a bit of detail here, in hopes that if this is your first time making crust, the process will be clear. If it's not clear, ask me a question through a comment and I will try to clarify. This recipe makes 11 pie crusts.

7 cups white flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 1/4 cup butter flavored shortening (OR 1 cup shortening and 1 1/2 cup butter)
2 tbsp. sugar
4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. vinegar
2 eggs
1 cup water
11 pie plates (the aluminum disposable ones work fine)

In the bowl of your electric mixer, blend the flours, shortening, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the vinegar, eggs and 3/4 cup water together. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing well and adding the last 1/4 cup water if needed. The dough should be on the wet side, but because of the shortening, not be too sticky to work with.

Remove a piece of dough, a little bit bigger than the size of your fist, and roll it out onto a floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Depending on how this first one goes, you may find you need to add a little more water or a little more flour. Roll the dough into a circle larger than your pie plate. The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick. Add more dough and re-roll if your circle is not big enough. If your dough seems really soft and you are having a hard time, try putting it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes and try again.

Using a flat, metal spatula that you've dipped in flour, loosen the circle from the counter. Fold half of the circle over and onto the other half and transfer to the pie plate. Then open it back up. Starting at the center of the pie plate, gently press the crust down and up the sides, releasing any air pockets. This dough is very forgiving. If your circle isn't quite the right shape, or if you have a tear, just pull off a little more dough from the bowl and patch it- no one will know:-).

Next, trim off any extra crust with and knife and crimp the edges. Repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat...until you can bear looking at pie crust no longer.

To freeze, I stack my pie plates about 5 high with a piece of wax paper between each of them. Then, I insert my stack into a large plastic bag and close it with a twisty-tie. Grocery store produce bags work well if you have any. I reuse my plastic bags and wax paper each time.

To defrost, just set the pie crust out on the counter for about 15 minutes and it's ready to be filled and baked.

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Now, if you think my children were off playing quietly while I was in the kitchen, you are sorely mistaken. They required A LOT of verbal direction from the kitchen (sometimes accompanied with a time-out). "Sam, PLEASE stop yelling at Sadie." "Sadie, do not bite Sam." "Sam, Sadie doesn't want to be a pirate right now, leave her be." "Sadie, we do NOT pee on the magnadoodle." So much for an accident-free day. And on and on it went.

There were some quiet moments. A few weeks ago at the beach, Sam and Sadie's cousins introduced them to perler beads. At the cabin last weekend, their Grandma gave Sam a tub of the beads. It is his favorite new pastime (Thank you, Grandma!!). Sadie likes to play with them, too, but this usually means she digs her little hand into the tub of beads and whirls them around, some spilling onto the floor. Here are some of Sam's creations. The square one he calls "the quilt". That's my boy!




The highlight of the morning was the play they put on for me. I was called into the playroom where Sam introduced the play by saying, "Sadie is the pirate queen and I am a prisoner". He then proceeded to stand on the arm of the couch. Sadie pushed him off and he landed (very dramatically) into a pile of couch cushions and pillows, a.k.a "the sea". Act II came when Sadie announced, "Sadie's nurn!". She became the prisoner and Sam, the pirate king. Pin It

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The Joy of Potty Training

I forgot how exhausting this is. It has been two years since last I tried it. At two and a half years old, I initiated the process with Sam (because I didn't think he was ever going to). I bought the expensive pull-ups and prizes for him to earn. I set the potty up in the kitchen, so I could keep and eye on him and he wouldn't feel exiled. I even put a basket of books next to his potty. Who doesn't like reading material? I set the timer for 15 minutes and made him sit on the potty. He was pretty agreeable, from the beginning, about sitting. Problem was, as soon as the pull up was back on, he'd go out into the playroom and pee in it. So, I kept changing the timer until I was asking him to sit every 5 minutes. Finally, we caught pee in the potty and boy did we celebrate. We even called grandparents, if I remember. Things went well from there. Well, I guess I should mention that he didn't poop in the potty (ever!) until 4 months later when baby Sadie was brought home from the hospital. That's when he decided to do it. He was so 'regular', that he'd poop in his overnight diaper first thing in the morning and then wear underwear all day long. To each their own.

Miss. Sadie has been a bit more entertaining. I've been working with her for a week and a half now (with a break this past weekend while we were out of town). As I may have mentioned, in an earlier post, the first day she screamed, like I've never heard her scream, whenever we made her sit. I jumped right to every five minutes on the timer, especially since I am skipping pull ups this time. Day two and three, she wanted to sit on the potty all the time, but would cry as whatever it was came out- hilarious. Sam and I would be jumping up and down clapping, while she was shedding tears. Once it was over, she'd stand up, wipe her tears and happily announce, "Bye, pee!", as I flushed it. Yesterday and today (so far), no accidents in the underwear, but she did go in the kiddie pool (not the yellow kind) yesterday. Luckily (for me), Daddy was on duty at the time.

Several of our friends despise changing diapers. They debate over whose turn it is to change the child and rejoice over the prospect of a diaper-free house. I can relate, but I don't have the hatred for them as others do. Don't get me wrong. I DO hate spending the money on them and having to throw them into a landfill (I know I could and should do cloth- I feel guilty enough on my own, thank you). I guess it's the fact that they are growing up, needing us less, that makes me nostalgic. So, if it still takes Sadie a while to figure this out, that's really alright with me. Pin It

Monday, July 21, 2008

A Good Thing Going

Jamey and I have a good thing going (more than one, actually, thank you very much). We seem to have a system down when it comes to our food. Jamey plans the garden each winter by asking what we need more or less of. Together we decide what new things to try or what things are not worth trying again. He places the order and draws up a diagram to show where everything will go. He starts some plants indoors and come spring, he (and Sam) plant the seeds and plants. He waters the garden (from one of our two cisterns that collect roof water) and mulches it with straw. He and I both weed and pick bad bugs off the plants. Sam earns 3 cents a bad bug if he chooses to help.

When it comes to harvesting, I pull things from the garden as I need them for supper- an onion, some carrots, some chard. Jamey harvests by the bushel full. It is not uncommon for me to come down in the morning to find a bushel basket (or two) on the kitchen counter full of produce that needs dealing with (especially this time of year). Today it was zucchini, cucumbers and tomatoes. I commence to deal with each item in turn, either freezing, canning or braiding what he sends my way. I try to look ahead to make life easier for myself later. See, I make the meals. So, if I freeze zucchini chunks 2-3 cups per bag- they will be the perfect size for making Peanut Butter Vegetable Soup this winter (which the kids love). I freeze chopped swiss chard in gallon bags- all ready for our Feta Chard quiche that we eat weekly when it's cold out. The list goes on....

He brings in the goods and I pack them away. In our pantry lined with shelves the height of quart jars. In our upright freezer and in our chest freezer. And, of course, into our bellies via our plates.


Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad (with onions). This is how I dealt with the cucumbers he brought me last night. We will eat this as a side dish come winter.

Cucumber Salad (for eating, fresh)

slicing cucumbers, sliced (peeling is optional)
sliced onions (optional)
sugar
white vinegar
salt and pepper

Slice the cucumbers and onions (however many you have) into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, add equal parts sugar and vinegar (the zippier you like it, the less sugar you should use). Mix well until the sugar is dissolved. Pour over the cucumbers. If the dressing does not cover the cucumbers, mix up some more dressing until it does. Add 1 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper for each 2 c. sugar and 2 c. vinegar dressing mixture you made. Stir well and refrigerate for several hours before eating. Adjust sweetness/tartness (by adding more or less sugar) to your liking the next time.
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Sunday, July 20, 2008

Maryland

This weekend, we traveled to western Maryland for a family reunion. The family is my husband's. My mother-in-law's, to be specific. A man named Lewis migrated to America, docked in Baltimore and walked (yes, on foot) from Baltimore to a place just over the Pennsylvania state line from western Maryland. Here, he decided to settle. That man was my husband's grandfather's grandfather. The reunion was a gathering of the family of Lewis' grandson (my husband's grandfather). You all are just going to have to get used to the way I explain things.

My husband's grandfather had 9 daughters (one of which is my mother-in-law). They had 25 children (one of which is my husband). Those children have had 80-some children (including Sam and Sadie). And, a handful of them have had children of their own. Yep- big family. We had a wonderful time catching up with Jamey's cousins and aunts on Saturday at a church where the kids got barrel rides (a lawnmower that pulls a train of barrels-turned-train-cars), Jamey played horse shoes and I visited with cousins and talked about kids and chickens and tried to answer everyone's questions about Jamey's ultramarathons:-).

Between events, Jamey drove me out to his grandfather's farm, which I had never seen before. Below are pictures of the lane, the house, the shed where they boiled down maple sap to make syrup, the chicken house and a few descendants of his grandfather's herd of Highland Cattle that one of Jamey's cousins inherited (and still keeps on the farm). What a beautiful place....






Saturday night, everyone was invited to another cousin's house for homemade soft serve ice cream and popcorn. It was, hands down, the best popcorn I have ever tasted. Here is a few photos of how it came to be...




Sunday morning, we had church in this building- the church where Jamey's mother went when she was a little girl.


And, here is the cabin we stayed in with Jamey's parents. It was built and is owned by another one of Jamey's cousins and sits on his cousin's property overlooking a pond. Sam enjoyed fishing in the pond every moment he wasn't reunion-ing. He didn't even care that on the end of his line was a toy plastic fish and not a real hook.


It was so encouraging to see a family this large make the effort to come together for fellowship, stories and good food. Many of Jamey's cousins and their families are conservative Mennonite (The women wear long dresses and coverings). Jamey and I are Mennonite, too, but have been raised in such a way that we blend in with the rest of the world (in dress). I respect their calling to be set apart, not in an attention seeking way, but as a witness of a people living in the world, but not of it. I believe this and pray that the people who know us see us as different as well- as people striving to do our best to live as Christ did. Pin It

Friday, July 18, 2008

Neighbors and Pie

We live in an old (circa 1897) farmhouse that was originally a hog farm. How do we know this? Well, we are lucky enough to have the granddaughter of the man who built our house (and lived in it, as did his children and some of their children) living right next door to us. And, to boot, this granddaughter's (now in her 60's) parents built and raised her and her sister in the farmhouse on the OTHER side of her house. Are you following me? Anyway, it is so neat to hear stories of what happened where, where gardens were located, who planted what tree and bush, etc. The icing on the cake is that both of these neighbors I've referred to are wonderful people and close friends.


(the back of our house, as seen from the garden)

Now, the neighbor of our neighbor (two doors down) has a WONDERFUL concord grape arbor that was inherited from our geographically-closest neighbor's family (still following?). This neighbor, D, so generously shares her grapes with us each August. It's work transforming them into jelly, juice (Jamey says the juice is his post-race drink of choice) and ready-for-pie portions, but it is so worth the time (and often itching hands and arms). This morning, after the chicks were settled, I used one of these 'pie portions of grapes' (thawed from the freezer) to make a pie to take to the reunion. Thank you, D.


Recipe for Grape Pie can be found in the Mennonite Community Cookbook, page 369.
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They're Here!

This morning the kids and I drove to the post office on the other side of town and picked up our chicks. The kids thought it was so fun to hear them peeping in the van. We took them out to their shed, making sure to lock their roommate, Somersault, out while we got them situated. We opened the box and Sam kept saying, "They're beautiful!" over and over again. Sadie kept saying, "Hold it peeps?" over and over again. One by one, I scooped them out and taught them how to drink by sticking their little beaks into the water. They seem well adjusted already, drinking, eating, pooping and racing around the pen. When we let Somersault back in, she didn't seem to care that they were there. She's been around chickens for a long time.







So, what did we get? There are 26 girl chicks (all made the trip alive). Nine are Silver Laced Wyandottes (laying hens). Nine are Ameraucanas (lay green-blue eggs) and eight are a breed I didn't bother learning the name of- they are our meat birds. Six are boarding with us for the summer. We combined our order with some friends who do a lot of traveling during the summer.

Is it possible that I am as excited as the kids are? No doubt. Pin It

Thursday, July 17, 2008

More Photos from the Past few Weeks



























































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The Past few Weeks



Monday, June 30, 2008

This morning I cleaned the kitchen, both bathrooms, vacuumed the downstairs, did a load of sheets, a load of towels, a load of cleaning rags, picked red and black raspberries (at least a pint combined) with my little berry girl, Sadie (2.5) (Sam chose to stay inside and play with his building cards and United States puzzle, age 5.5). After lunch and putting Sadie down for a nap, I went outside to pull out the finished pea plants that Jamey and Sam had planted all along the perimeter of our 40 x 60 ft. garden. Also had to pull a lot of weeds out along with them, but Jamey should been pleasantly surprised when he gets home and sees it. It’s all ready for straw. The weed piles need picking up, too. It started to pour while I was out, but it was kind-of fun, even though my towels on the line got soaked. Somersault (pet cat) kept me company since Sam was inside watching PBS (he really does go outside sometimesJ). It’s 3:30 and Sadie is awake. Jamey works/interns at the hospital until 5:30 today, then we’ll eat and then at 7pm friends are coming over with some raw milk to make mozzarella cheese. A pretty productive day, I would say….

Vent: I wish we had never taught Sam how to pee standing up. Never fail; just hours after I have cleaned the bathrooms (or anytime for that matter), I enter one to the distinct smell of urine. All over the toilet seat, back of the toilet and (often) the floor. It makes me sooooooooo upset. So, it happened again this afternoon and I called him in to the bathroom. He comes in covering his mouth and looking VERY sheepish and I show him what he did. I then announce it’s punishment time and off he runs, screaming, over the gate and up the stairs. I clean up the bathroom (again) and find him upstairs, under his covers shrieking in terror. He says, “Please don’t spank me, just make me stay in my room”. So, since I don’t feel like wrestling with him and don’t like spanking in the first place, I agree and tell him he must stay there until Daddy comes home- at least an hour away. I am mad. Sadie and I go outside and I take out my anger on weeds in the flowerbeds. When I come back in, I find him asleep in his bed (all sweaty and cute because he has the covers on), hugging Ted (his teddy bear). I wake him up and tell him he can come down. We hug. I put signs on the potties that say, “Sam must SIT”. And it’s downstairs to make dinner.

For dinner: Gene Wenger’s Loaf Mix ham balls (that mother-in-law donated to the cause) baked with last night’s green beans, beets (with a lemon- ginger-honey sauce) and triple berry cobbler for dessert.

So, cheese making went great- better than it has EVER for just me. We used all the milk (1 gallon raw milk that they brought) - didn't skim off any cream and heated it to 98 degrees instead of 88. We misread the thermometer. We let it cool to 88 then added the rennet mixture. Let it sit like Ricki (a.k.a. cheese queen) says and it sliced into cubes and STAYED that way, perfectly. It was sooooo easy to microwave and separate. And, of course, was delicious- PLUS it made way more than my store bought milk ever did.

July 1st, Tuesday

This morning, took Sam to play at a friend’s house. Sadie and I went to vacation food shopping, came home, cleaned up the kitchen, folded wash, put wash away, cleaned up Sam’s room, back to pick up Sam. Lunch. Sadie down for a nap. I then tackled the “animal half” of Jamey’s shop. The shop was originally a brooding house. The door opens into the center side of the building. To the right is Jamey’s workshop (right now it’s remarkably clean). To the left is Somersault’s room/wood storage/chick pen. It was a mess. All sorts of wood scattered about, bird feathers from Somersault’s hunting successes, dust, dirt and cat hair. You name it. So, I organized the wood pieces, swept up (the best you can sweep old carpet with a broom), scooped all the old hay/feed/poop out of the chick’s pen, replaced it with clean hay, laid newspaper over it, washed the chick’s water trough and feed dispenser and scooped the poop from Somersault’s litter box. Needless to say, there was a lot of sneezing and wiping of the nose with all the dust, hair, etc., flying around. I was a bit worried the neighbors would think the shop was on fire.

All this because we are going on vacation with Jamey’s family next week and our neighbor will be feeding Somersault and I don’t want her to think that our cat lives in squalor. Also, because the week after the beach, 26 chicks will arrive (6 of them will go to friends once they have grown a bit). 12 new laying hens (6 Silver laced Wyandotte and 6 Ameraucanas) and 7 meat birds. The plan is for all of them to live happily together in the chick pen (a plywood crate-of-sorts built into a corner of Somersault’s room with a chicken wire Somersault-poof lid). Once they are older, they will move on up and out to the chicken tractor. I plan on becoming an expert at the beach. I used some of my birthday money to by the book, Living with Chickens. It arrived today and I am going to try to stay out of it until I feel the ocean breezes.

For dinner: Mac and Cheese with Veggies from the freezer for Jamey and the kids. I got to eat out thanks to a friend, who took me out for my birthday. Watched “The Future of Food” tonight. Looks like Seed Savers will be getting more business from me and I will be learning how to save my own seeds. On a positive note, a local organic farm has bought out a little meat market on the north end of town- yipeeeee!!

July 2nd, Wednesday

This morning, a friend and her kids came to play. They went home. Lunch. Sadie in down for a nap and Sam is watching PBS. I am trying to get motivated to vacuum out the van or weed or be productive in some way, but here I sit, enjoying the quiet, reading emails and blogs.

Good Morning, Lord: Devotions for Young Mothers was my mom’s. I borrowed it off of her shelf and have been semi-regularly reading the devotions. It has a copyright of 1977 and therefore, seems right up my alley. So many things written for moms these days aren’t applicable to me somehow. Maybe because our family schedule doesn’t include running children to sport and music lessons. Or maybe because my kids don’t deal with school issues or video game issues, etc. This devotional is more my speed and is spot-on calling me to be patient, be content, teach my children the faith and trust God. I’ve ordered a copy for my sister to give her when her first baby arrives later this month. What I really want to do is buy a copy for every mother I know….

This afternoon, neighbor and good friend, D, and her kids came over to play/catch up since they were on vacation last week. Her son made me a necklace/hair tie out of a seashell he found at the beach by drilling a hole intoJ. D and I talked about local/natural food choices- the topic of much of our conversation since we both read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle this past year. What an amazing book. It has changed the way I shop, cook and eat. I’m not a purest, for sure, but we have certainly moved miles in that direction and it feels good. When Sadie woke up from her nap, she was pleased to see our visitors. She is smitten with D’s youngest son (who mostly ignores her) and ignores D’s older son, who plays so nicely and is so sweet with her. Oh, Sadie…

For Dinner: A casserole made with pasta, our first zucchini, stewed tomatoes, cheese and bread crumbs.

After dinner, vacuumed out the van (finally) and chose books for the kids for vacation. It’s been a good, long day even though Sam and Sadie are in a new phase of constantly bugging each other.

July 3rd, Thursday

Jamey has off today. A year ago today, he was working for a pharmaceutical company in the environmental projects lab. He was a staff scientist there for 8 or 9 years. August of last year, he quit/was let go (long, great story) to go back to school full time to become a pharmacist. He finished his first year this past May. He is doing great and really enjoys it. This summer, he is working as a pharmacy technician at our local hospital’s inpatient pharmacy. Part of his summer are 200 no-pay/intern hours towards his school requirements. He works days and some weekends with a lot of Southern ladies and a robot. But, today is a day off- yippee! It seems as if he doesn’t get many days off.

First thing this morning, I mowed and Jamey watched the kids and hung out 2 loads of wash. Then, I came in and he went out to improve our chicken fences, spread hay on the garden and otherwise tend the garden. I made a cake for the beach and pulled Sadie out from under the glider rocker, which she pulled over onto herself. She’s okay. Then we had lunch- pizza bread and homemade yogurt. Then, I headed outside to rake the grass clippings and weed my least favorite flowerbed close to the road. The periwinkle I planted there (3 years ago?) is spreading, but not fast enough. Jamey cleaned up dishes, put Sadie down, loaded the trailer with our garbage and headed to the dump and to pick up hay bales for the garden with Sam. Jamey’s days off are always treated like Saturdays- there is always a lot to be done around here- especially in the summer.

July 12th, 2008

Home from the beach! We spent the past week at the beach with Jamey’s family. His parent’s, brother’s family and us all stayed together with his sister’s family a few blocks away. We were three blocks from the beach, enjoyed cool, but great, weather and ate too much! Sam and Sadie loved playing with their cousins and in the frigid water (58 degrees!). We tried to take Sam to the boardwalk one evening after Sadie was in bed, offering to let him go on a ride. He wanted no part of it after seeing how crowded and noisy the amusement park was. The next morning, we took them miniature golfing instead. All and all, a really fun week

We arrived home to an overgrown lawn, but the garden looks great. Jamey heavily mulched it with hay before we went away and it did a good job of keeping the weeds and moisture down. After a dinner of feta chard pie, sweet and sour chard and blueberry oat muffins, I picked almost a quart of wine berries and Jamey brought in zucchini, cucumbers, beets and almost a bushel of green beans. He also dug up the garlic and laid it out on the table on the front porch to cure. It looks great and I can’t wait to see it braided and hung in my pantry. I remember the summer after moving here (our first garden attempt)…Sam and I were driving home from the store- he would have been 2 or so…He said excitedly, “Mommy, I just saw a house without a garden!” Can you imagine? A house without a garden? J

I feel as if I am in anticipation/preparation mode. In the next two months I am preparing to:

1) Potty train Miss. Sadie.

2) Put up LOTS of produce.

3) Get ready for the new Sunday School year.

4) Get ready for Sam’s year of 1st grade.

It’s all good stuff- just a lot and I am looking forward to fall when I will have no more diapers to change, our pantry and freezers will be stocked for the winter, Sunday school will be underway, and Sam and I will have found a good school rhythm.

Thank you, Lord, for the abundance of my life- family, friends, food and your love. Remind me to be thankful every day.

July 13th, Sunday

Yesterday was a tiring, but productive day. Jamey worked. After getting groceries and a trip to Target to buy big girl panties, I started potty training Sadie. She loved her new panties- holding them in the store and all the way home. She did not like putting her bare bottom on that plastic potty seat. She screamed every time as I held her down- and had several accidents. How can one relax and pee when they are screaming and wriggling to get away?? After lunch, Sadie went down for a nap (in diaper) and Sam went over to swim at the neighbor’s. I finished my day’s to-do list which included: snapping, blanching and freezing 8 quarts of green beans, sautéing vegetables for pizza for dinner, making a large batch of pesto (7 cups packed basil=3 ice cube trays pesto), sweeping and vacuuming floors, and mowing the lawn when Jamey got home at 3. Whew.

Sat. Dinner: Two large homemade pizzas topped with tomato sauce and cheese (for kids) and pesto, sautéed zucchini, onion, garlic, herbs and cheese (for grown ups). Plus the second to last quart of applesauce.

Around 8pm my brother and his fiancé arrived after their 12-hour drive from down south where they worked at a camp for the summer. We chatted, walked around outside, the kids introducing them to the play set. Came in and had Three-Fruit cobbler (wine berries, blueberries and sour cherries topped with brown sugar, butter, flour topping) served warm over vanilla ice cream. Welcome home!

This morning, Jamey went to work and the rest of us stayed home to visit more with my brother and fiancé before they headed home. Played outside most of the morning, bringing Sadie’s potty out with us. Surprisingly, today she LOVES sitting on her potty! She sits on it all the time! She had a couple accidents, but peed in it (outside) in the morning and peed and pooped in it in the afternoon!! Hurray!! She got a ‘prize’ for each time- a wooden-beaded watch and a beaded bracelet (which she likes to wear on her ankle). I think we’re getting somewhere! Company left after lunch and I had a quiet Sabbath afternoon with Sadie napping and Sam watching a video for the first time in over a week.

Dinner: leftoversJ

July 16th, Tuesday

Yesterday: Pickled one-gallon beets (3 quart jars) for eating and made cucumber salad.

Dinner: leftovers, pickled beets and cucumber salad.

Today: Made 8 loaves zucchini bread, braided cured garlic (3 2-foot long braids and one small basketful of loose bulbs), & did lots of laundry. Jamey picked 2/3 bushel green beans- those need dealing with, too.

Dinner: Pasta tossed with pesto and our first few ripe tomatoes, choppedJ. Zucchini bread, pickled beets and cucumber salad.

July 18th, Thursday

Yesterday: Froze 6 more quart green beans, did laundry and dinner prep since company was coming. Continuing to potty train Sadie- she’s doing pretty well- got 3 stickers today for putting varying amounts of pee into the potty (and some on the floor). Took down extra/old things from the walls/bulletin boards in the playroom and readied things a bit for starting 1st grade with Sam. For lunch, ate my first peanut butter, mayo and tomato sandwich- delicious- of the seasonJ.

Dinner with friends: White and blue potatoes tossed in pesto, roasted. Zucchini Parmesan (same as eggplant parm: floured, egged and bread-crumbed with tomato sauce and mozzarella on top). Pickled beets and blueberry-oat muffins. Friends brought peach-berry cobbler.

Today: Laundry (again), made sweet and sour cucumber salad and added hard-boiled eggs to pickled beets and juice (both in new ½ gallon ball jars- they are so cool!) for the weekend family reunion. Froze 7 bags (2-3 cups each) of chopped zucchini.

Sadie is doing great today (potty-wise). After breakfast she sat and sat and sat, for like 20 minutes on the potty. She kept asking to get up and I’d say, “go, ahead” and she’d say “nooooo” and kept sitting. Finally she made a poop in the potty- so exciting!!! No pee anywhere this morning, so I’m sure her nap diaper will be soaked, but we are getting there! Yippee!

Chicks didn’t come Wed, as we expected. They are coming tomorrow. Jamey is working late today because he is shadowing. Dinner tonight and tomorrow will be leftovers- we are blessed with a fridge fullJ. After dinner I braided a garden cart full of onions that Jamey then hung in the barn.


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