God's Seasons

Pork Brats and Risotto

2011-11-15T13:29:00.001-08:00

This has to be one of the best tasting meals I've made in a while and it was a spur of the moment idea. I had picked up some nitrate free brats that were on sale in the deli at the store. But when I brought them home I realized I had never cooked raw brats only the pre cooked kind. So I looked up some recipes and since I'm not very good at following a recipe I took some things that I liked from each one and set off to cook my brats.

The first thing I did was brown the brats then after they were good and brown on all sides I took them out and set them aside temporarily. Then I cut half an onion like you would for a stir fry and threw them into the pan along with some pre-cut red bell peppers I had frozen earlier in the season. I let them saute in some butter for a while then added the brats back in and put enough chicken stock in to reach half way up the brats put a lid on and let them simmer for about 40 min. At this point you are thinking what is the big deal this is a basic recipe for brats nothing special. Yep although the brats were good they were not the wow in this meal. The wow came after when I saw all the yummy juice left after the brats were cooked. At this point I thought well I could boil it down to make a sauce OR I could put some arborio rice I bought to make risotto and make a mock risotto. So of course I picked the second choice and it was awesome. The flavors mixed perfectly and at the end I mixed a little half and half. It was perfect with the brats. I don't think I would have thought the brats and risotto would work so well together but it was really a great meal. I hope you try it.

Healthy Snack Ideas

2011-11-07T11:36:00.000-08:00

I have been on a kick to find some healthy snack for my girls. They have been eating like teenagers of the boy variety and it has been hard to keep up with them. So I thought I might share some of the recipes that I have tried and since I haven't made any changes I am just going to link to the original post and write a few notes. I have some other recipes book marked that I want to try but haven't had a chance yet. I didn't want to wait on that because knowing myself as I do this post would never get done. So we are going to call this post a work in progress and as I find more snacks I will post them.

Kale Chips: This is my youngest daughters and husbands favorite. My daughter likes these so much that when ever we are at the farmers market she asks, "can we get that green stuff to make those crunchy things I like." Its a good thing I speak 4yr old isn't it. The only thing I would change is to add the sea salt after you cook them.

Crispy Chickpeas: Now these everyone liked. They taste like corn nuts, remember those. The thing you have to remember about these is that they are done when they look like they are almost burnt. So I recommend that you keep an eye on them and take out the ones that are done and leave the rest then repeat until they are all a darker golden brown. I used soaked, home cooked chickpeas. It is important to soak beans in an acid medium to get rid of the anti nutrients and have the best digestion. Here is a post on how and why you should soak from the healthy home economist.

Protein bars: A type of a larabar. These are great to have on hand, this recipe is for a banana flavor but all you have to do is swap out the bananas for any other dried fruit. Our favorite is dried cranberries with a little cinnamon. The bars are a little much so I roll mine into TB size balls and then roll them into coconut to make them less sticky. I also take out some nuts and add wheat germ to add some extra omega 3's.

Macaroons are full of protein and very yummy. We all love these. I use honey instead of maple syrup but that is the only thing I have changed in this recipe. As I use egg yokes in recipes I put the whites into the freezer until I have enough to make a large match if you do this don't forget to keep a tally on the bag for how many whites you have.

Dried fruit, nuts and seeds: This is kind of self explanatory but these are great snacks especially mixed together to make a trail mix or mixed into granola. To get the most nutrients from your nuts and seeds they need to be soaked and then dried. If you have a dehydrator then I would soak during the day and then dry during the night. If you are using your stove to dry I would soak during the night and dry during the day. To soak you take a big glass bowl and put 4 cups of nuts or seeds to 2TB of sea salt and soak for at least 7 hr. To dry drain the nuts or seeds and put on a lined baking pan and dry on the lowest temp your oven will go 150 is best, or just put them in your dehydrator. I make big batches to I always have them on hand.

Muffins are also a good snack especially when you put all kinds of veggies into them. Some of our favorite muffins are morning glory, pumpkin, gingerbread, and banana zucchini. I try to make a double batch to keep in the freezer for a easy breakfast or snack.

I plan on working on some cracker recipes in the next few weeks for a cheese and crackers option. I hope these ideas help. I have learned that sometimes the simplest things make the best snacks. I would also recommend Katie's book Healthy Snacks On The Go it gave me lots of ideas. Please share if you have any family favorites.

Make Your Organic Produce Go Farther

2011-11-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

Buying organic anything can get pricey but for my family I feel that it is an important step in getting the most from our food for our bodies. We have learned to be more diverse in our veggies, eating what is in season and freezing veggies we can't live without for other seasons, at least that is how we keep our cost down. But the best way I have found to really feel like my money is going as far as it can is by saving the peels, ends and stems in the freezer for when I make stock. Making stock will make you feel like your meat money it's going a little further too, especially if you are buying pasture raised chickens and grass fed beef like I hope you are.

Our freezer is always full of stock. I cook with it all the time and there are many reasons why you should make your own. 1. it is so much cheaper then the stuff from the store 2. you control the ingredients 3. the ingredients you put in can make your stock a power house of nutrition for your family 4. the gelatin from your homemade stock helps keep the flue away from your family and 5. it is supper easy.

I use my crock pot to make stock I just throw in my ingredients fill the pot with filtered water and turn it on low and let it cook until the veggies are mush, strain and freeze in 2 cup baggies. That was the very simple explanation of what I do but I actually put some thought into what I put in. What ever you put into your stock not only enhances the taste but the vitamin and mineral content of the stock and in the winter that really counts especially when your house is hit with colds and flues. So when ever I'm cooking and there are ends left from my organic broccoli, celery, carrots etc. I put them in to freezer bags and put them into the freezer for the next time I make stock. My favorite veggie to save is asparagus ends. I buy tons of asparagus in the spring to have for the winter and as I'm preparing them for the freezer I also blanch the ends and put them in a separate bag just for my stock. It gives the stock great flavor plus asparagus is full of vitamins you can read about that here. Garlic, oregano, and rosemary are also essential as far as my stock is concerned all of them have healing properties especially in dealing with cold and flue.

So the next time you are making dinner or preserving veggies remember to save your ends peals and tops for the next time you make stock. You could also use them to make a vegetable stock as well.

Another way I have been stretching my organic veggies is to save the seeds. We were not able to have a garden this year but next year I plan on having a large one. Seeds are cheaper then starts but even though seeds are not expensive I figured why not just save the seeds from the organic produce I have been getting from my farmers market. It's easy to save seeds but you do need to remember a couple of things 1. the produce can't be GMO which means the seed have been genetically altered and may not reproduce. 2. the seeds need to be dry before you store them and 3. they need to be stored in a cool dark place.

So what I did is each time I wanted to save the seeds I put the seeds on a dry cloth on a plate to dry. Then I put them in a labeled Ziploc bag and put the Ziploc into a container that won't let light in and put it into the frig. It has been that easy and come spring I should be all set to grow my garden.

I hope these tips help. If you have any other helpful tips please share.

This post is apart of Simple Lives Thursday.

Homemade Marshmallow

2011-04-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

Homemade marshmallow's are so easy and quick. I wanted to post this before Easter but we had a family emergency and was not able to post it. But these melt great and would work for smores, rice crispy treats or you could cut them small for fruit salad. I've made these twice and have kind of tweaked it to work for us.

Ingredients:
Adapted from: littleaustinite.com
2 TBS of unflavored gelatin
2 1/2 cups of sugar *
1 cup chilled filtered water
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp real vanilla or any flavoring you would like
1/4 cup powdered sugar**
1/4 cup tapioca starch or cornstarch

1. Chill bowl and whisk
2. Dissolve the gelatin into 1/2 cup of the chilled water. Let sit.
3. In a medium sauce pan add the rest of the chilled water, then the sugar and salt.
4. Cover and let boil for 3 min.
5. After 3 min put your thermometer into the mixture until is reaches 235-240 you want it at the soft ball stage. Don't let your thermometer touch the bottom of the pan. I don't have a candy thermometer so I used our digital one that goes up to 300 degrees.
6. Remove from heat when it has reached the right temp.
7. Get your mixing bowl out and put the gelatin mixture into the bowl
8. Slowly mix the sugar mixture into the gelatin ounce the sugar is added add the vanilla and raise the speed of your mixer slowly you don't want the sugar to splatter it's very HOT.
9. Keep mixing on a medium to high speed until it turns white and thick. It will look like meringue.***
10. While the marshmallow is mixing take a 9x13 pan and coat with butter.
11. Mix the tapioca starch and powdered sugar and coat the pan.
12. After the marshmallow is done pour it into the 9x13 pan and smooth it out.
13. Cover and let set at least 2 hours.
14. After it's set cut into squares or little shapes.
15. After you cut your marshmallows you are going to want to roll them in the same mixture you used for the pan. put into an air tight container for about a week.

* The first time I made these I used organic cane sugar. They turned out great and still mostly white. The second time I made these I used coconut sugar. These were good but different they had more of a maple taste and they were tan. Which didn't matter to me because I rolled them in toasted coconut.
** Instead of using powdered sugar I used ground up unsweetened coconut and mixed it with the tapioca starch it worked great and didn't add any flavor.
*** If you are making rice crispy treats just take the marshmallow from this stage and mix with your rice crispy's.

Our Homeschooling Curriculum

2011-04-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

http://office.microsoft.com

I don't know why it has taken me so long to write a post on homeschooling but it has. I thought I would tell you what we have been doing this year and some things that I have learned.

I love A Beka Books! That is the curriculum that we chose this year and I am so happy with it. It has been kind of scary going through the math, I can not believe what they expect 5 year olds to know these days. All I remember in kindergarten is learning my ABC and how to tie my shoes. But she is getting it so I don't think they are asking to much. I have always been of the mind set that children give what they are expected of if you don't expect much you won't get much. Here is me stepping off my soap box, sorry About that. Any way umm curriculum that's right. here is the break down.

For her writing we are using Writing with Phonics K5. This book is great because it has lots of repetition and goes well with the book we are using to teach reading.

For math we are using Numbers Skills K Arithmetic. I again love this book it teaches through repetition but in a good way. It teaches the same concept through different ways. It also has tests so that you can keep track of what your child needs to work on. My daughter is learning how to write her numbers up to 20, number families (teens, twenties, thirties, and so on), she it also working on telling time, adding, subtracting, counting money and counting by 10. There is more but you get the idea. It is a very well rounded curriculum.
For reading we have been using The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading, a mouth full hu. I love that book too and it will serve you from age's 4 and on up until they get it. I have to say that the thought of teaching reading scared me to death I had so many questions like where do I start? How do I teach the stupid letters with multiple sounds? and then there are the letters that don't make any sounds at all the list could go on. I'm not really a fan of who ever came up with our official language. Anyway this book breaks it down in a way that you don't realize that your teaching your child to read until well they are reading sentences to you. Mind you they are sentenced of three letter words but you know what? It is amazing to watch your child read. Not to mention your fears evaporating because you can thank God for giving others the gift of writing curriculum.
For history we kind of just went with the holidays and got books from the library. Let just say next year I will have a history curriculum.
For science we went with what interested them at the time and just got books from the library. It was not the best way and I will not do that next year. I will also be getting a science curriculum.

Some advice if you are just starting out:
1.Ask everyone you know and even people you don't know about there methods and the curriculum they use.
2. Get the teachers addition for all the curriculum's that you are not an expert in that includes simple K math because there is advice and methods that you need to know in order to teach it properly. I thought I could save some money and not buy the teachers addition because well I know how to add and subtract and count to 20 but it more then that and you need to be prepared.
3. Don't think that it is easy to teach by the seat of your pants. Homeschooling is hard and is a full time job and considering you have about 15 other full time jobs that you are juggling being a full time mom try and make this as painless as possible. Remember that being a supper mom does not mean doing it all yourself. Curriculum is a very handy tool and will make your life less of a chore.
That's my 2 cents and I hope that it will help you with making some decisions for next year.
4. Lastly be prepared to make mistakes and change things along the way as you learn how your child learns.
5. Ok one more thing celebrate the good days. And pray through the bad days.

Easy Changes That Make a Big Impact on Your Health: How About Something Sweet!

2011-04-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

This is the absolute easiest thing to change in your diet because who doesn't love sugar. The only thing that makes this switch hard is that besides your healthy fats which we will talk about soon natural sugar can be expensive. But like anything else in this healthy eating journey you take your time and implement what you can when you can. Some of my favorite sugars to use are raw honey, raw sugar, grade B maple syrup and my newest find is coconut sugar. The honey and the coconut sugar are both low glycemic so I try to use them as much as possibly. Their are other sugars that you can use that are natural such as stevia and agave. My personal verdict is still out on agave so I won't spend any time on it. As for stevia it is so touchy in the amount that you use that I don't use it often.

What does low glycemic levels mean? It is the measurement of sugars in food and how fast or how slow the body absorbs them. Every time you eat something that has a high GI level it spikes your blood sugar causing fat storage. Eating to many foods with a high Gi can cause heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers and of course weight gain. Besides trying to lose weight I also have a very very low tolerance for sugar and so the low GI sugars help my body absorb them in a normal fashion. Here is how what you want to look for: A high GI level is 70 and up, a medium level is 56-69 and a low GI is 55 and below. Here is a link to a chart I found on GI levels in different foods.

Raw honey is amazing, it's one of Gods true gifts. Honey not only has a low glycemic index of 55 but has healing qualities, it's good for burns and cuts because of it natural antiseptic quality. I love honey but in baked goods it can make them dense so I use it manly in things like granola, these cookies, oatmeal or my personal favorite on some sprouted toast with coconut oil. Those two together are like they were made for each other. We have also been known to mix coconut oil and honey together to put on our popcorn. MMMMMM. The reason you want your honey raw is because when it is heated in the pasteurizing process it kills all the good things that makes honey worth eating.

Coconut sugar is my favorite sugar of all time. It comes from the sap of coconut tree. It has a low glycemic index of 35 it tastes great and you can get it granulated so that you can bake with it or make marshmallow's like I'm doing today. According to wikipedia Coconut sugar is high in potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, and has vitamins such as B1,2,3 and 6. If you want to know why these are important to your body click on the link above.

Raw sugar: I don't really use this sugar as much now that I'm trying to lose weight but it is a good alternative to processed sugar and it is full of vitamins and mineral. The reason you want to stay away from processed sugars or fake sugar substitutes is that they are chemically striped of any nutrient. Or with the fake stuff they are just fake man made sweeteners that have side effects that are harmful to your body.

Grade B maple syrup: While both grade and A and Grade B are natural and come from the sap of a maple tree. Grade A comes from the early spring sap and Grade B comes from the later sap which according to this site the grade B contains higher levels of vitamins. I use it mainly for pancakes and to sweeten oatmeal. My family and I are not real maple fans unless it comes with a side of flap jacks.

I hope this helps you take another look at your pantry. The best way to find out what is best for your family is to just look up anything you have questions on. That is how I came to find out what I wanted to change, it has become so natural to us we don't even think about it.

Lentils my new favorite legume

2011-04-05T14:49:00.000-07:00

from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/

I have to say that I have never given lentils much thought, but my sister and I are trying to lose weight using natural low carb, low glycemic foods. In my research I found that lentils have tons of nutrients, are high in fiber, are a low glycemic food and are cheap so I thought I would give them a try. They are now my new favorite and the best part is they don't have any real distinct taste themselves they just take on the seasonings you put into them. I made baked meatless meat balls with them and they were great. The texture was just like meat.

Ingredients:
Tweeked from lentil recipes
Pre-heat 375
2 cups of soaked lentils *
2 cloves of garlic
3 eggs
1 medium onion
1/4 wheat germ
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
pinch of salt
your favorite meatloaf or ball seasonings
Update: I forgot to put milk in the ingredients. I used about a 1/4 cup of milk. Sorry if this caused any problems.

The Sauce:
megsfavoriterecioes.blogspot.com
1/2 cup of ketchup (corn syrup free)
6 Tbs butter
6 Tbs raw sugar
3 Tbs vinegar (I used raw apple cider)
6 Tbs water

*Lentil prep: the night before soak the lentils in filtered water with about 2 Tbs of some kind of acid I used raw apple cider vinegar but you can use whey, or yogurt. The next day I rinsed the lentils with filtered water and put them in my slow cooker on low. It took most the day because I did a large batches to freeze for later without taking 2 days.

For the lentil balls I mixed all the ingredients together and made 1 inch balls and placed them on a foil lined cookie sheet and baked them for 25- 30 minutes.

For the sauce mix the ingredients into a sauce pan and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. I reheated the lentil balls and the sauce together on the stove the next day and they tasted great and held together.

*As a side note lentils are very good if you suffer from diabetes because of there high fiber.

This post is shared at Simple Lives Thursday.

Easy Changes That Make a Big Impact on Your Health: Taking Out The Trash

2011-03-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

High fructose corn syrup, MSG, soy letchin, soy oil and soy it's self. These things are trash to your body, they are genetically modified and are very bad for your health. Now we can argue all day about un-fermented soy but for my family I don't allow it in our home, if I can help it you can read here and here as to why. The other stuff on this list are things that are found in almost anything processed even stuff labeled healthy. When we first started out on this road it was overwhelming because every box or package I turned over had one two or all of the list in the ingredient's . The good news is that when you step back and asses what your family really needs its not that hard. I try to keep simple nutritious snacks around like soaked and dried nuts, dried fruit and coconut cream over frozen berries is also a favorite. I don't spend my whole life in the kitchen making crackers and treats so that my family feels like they are not missing out. They understand why we eat this way and even my kids like to learn about what is and is not healthy and why.

High fructose corn syrup: Let me start out by saying if you have a child who is a little over energetic this could be the number one cause. My oldest can not handle sugar she is nuts after she eats this. HFCS comes from highly processing GMO corn starch and turn it into syrup. According to a study that Princeton University did on HFCS:
"These rats aren't just getting fat; they're demonstrating characteristics of obesity, including substantial increases in abdominal fat and circulating triglycerides," said Princeton graduate student Miriam Bocarsly. "In humans, these same characteristics are known risk factors for high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer and diabetes." read more here
There is a campaign going on by the corn industry which by the way is supplemented by the government that states HFCS is natural. I don't know what their definition of natural is but mine is not taking GMO corn and over processing the starch to make it a syrup that causes health risks.

MSG: Is not just to add flavor it is linked to cause multiple heath problems to better understand fully what MSG can do to your body I suggest watching this 4 part series on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txiVDY-prk4. MSG will take a little time to get out of you diet but if you have any of the symptoms then it is worth the effort. I think for us the hardest has been salad dressings it should be the easiest because dressings are pretty instant but I just have not made the time. It is on my list and hopefully I will have a few go to dressings before the first lettuce is ready to buy/pick.

New Name. New Season.

2011-03-08T14:27:00.000-08:00

If you have read here, you know that we have recently moved, so I no longer have my gardens or my chickens (tear), so we no longer feed our family from the food we grow on our city lot. Instead we feed our family by preserving in-season foods that we get from the farmers' market or our local organic health food store Marlene's. So it's time for a name change. I'm thinking of the name "God's Seasons". It's a name that really reflects the last twelve or so months of our life. God has thrown a few detours and potholes into our lives and it has taught us that we can plan and map out our lives all we want but the truth is God is in the driver's seat and it's our job to sit back and enjoy the drive without back seat driving. That's not to say that we do nothing, but that we need to be joyful in the detours and potholes of life while we remain still and know that he is God, the Beginning and the End.

So all that to say I'm changing the name and direction of this blog. First, I want it to be an encouragement to where you are along the road God has you on and second to be a place where you can find helpful recipes and tips to a healthy body. So we will be focusing more on things I've been learning in the season God has me in mainly being a homeschool mom of small children trying to manage a house while making time for God and being loving to my husband and children. We will also be focusing on eating in-season, organic and grass fed while being good stewards with our grocery budget.

So I hope that you will stay tuned and maybe we can make it through this season together with minimal break downs.

Kefir Cheese

2011-03-07T21:39:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a while but life has happened and my family comes first. But I want to continue where I left off and that is to give you some ideas on how to make what you eat and make it matter. Instead of putting things into your body that can cause you to be moody, tired, and sick I want to give some suggestions on what to eat to make your body happy, energetic and happy. So here is a recipe that goes with my first post on easy changes, kefir cheese.

Kefir is great for your gut and can be used many ways. Besides using kefir in smoothies my family likes kefir cheese. It is just as simple to make and great tasting. This morning I mixed some kefir cheese and some blueberries in the food processor to put on our pancakes.

All you have to do to make kefir into kefir cheese is to put either coffee filters or cheese cloth inside a colander, put the colander into a glass bowl. Then pour the kefir into the lined colander and let it sit over night or most of the day until it gets to the consistency that you want. The liquid that drains off the kefir is called whey don't throw this away. Whey is very healthy and can be used in smoothies, to soak your grains or to ferment. Put the whey into a glass jar and store it in the refrigerator it will last for 6 months. Then take the remaining kefir and put it into an air tight container in the refrigerator. You can use it in place of sour cream or cream cheese.

Next I will be talking about some things that you should take out of your diet. This task is not as easy but your body will thank you.

Easy Changes That Make a Big Impact on Your Health

2010-12-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

I want to start a series on little changes you could be making to your diet that will make a big impact on your health. This will include things to either add or take out of your diet. I'm going to start with milk kefir do to the fact that it is so east to do and may take you a while to get the grains, unless you have a friend that can give you some.

Kefir is an amazing cultured milk that has 30 beneficial bacteria that aggressively attack the bad bacteria in your gut. Yogurt also has beneficial bacteria but only a few and they are not aggressive. If you are scared by the word bacteria just know that it takes good bacteria in your gut to make it function properly. If your gut is unhealthy then more then likely you will not be feeling your best. I really didn't believe it either until I started drinking and cooking with it myself. Actually I should say that I noticed a difference when we moved and I wasn't drinking it that I felt horrible and very tried. Since I have been drinking and cooking with it again I'm starting to feel a lot better and I have more energy. It is so easy and tastes so good that it really has been the easiest thing to stick with.

Now I wouldn't recommend just drinking it plain but it is great as a smoothie base or you can use it in place of yogurt or buttermilk in recipes. I make both raw milk knifer and coconut milk kefir. They are both good it's just that the coconut milk makes a sweeter kefir. You have to make raw milk kefir every so often to keep your grains happy though and I wouldn't use the same grains to do both I found that it messed up my batch of raw milk after I did the coconut milk.

So this is how you do it:

* I recommend getting grains in the long run it's cheaper and you get more out of the grains verses the powdered stuff. I bought mine from a guy selling them on amazon it was cheaper then a natural place and they grew fast and healthy.
*After they have grown large enough to make a pint about 2 TB put them into a clean pint jar with some raw grass fed milk then use a coffee filter and a canning ring for the lid and let it sit out for about 24 to 36 hours. sometimes I put a tablespoon of cream to thicken and sweeten it a bit. I put mine in the cabinet above my oven, you want a warm place.
*You will know it is done because the milk will thicken to a drinkable yogurt consistency. I strain mine using a plastic colander over a bowl, then I take my grains and put then into another clean pint jar to start a new batch.
*I take my finished kefir and put it into a clean jar and stick it into the fridge to be uses when I need it.

I highly recommend giving it a try and if you are still not clear about how easy it is here are some links that helped me.
healthyhomeeconomist - video on kefir
healthyhomeeconomist-what kefir looks like
passionatehomemaking- coconut kefir
passionatehomemaking- more info in kefir

I'm going to be posting some ways to use you kefir in the days ahead. What is your favorite way to use kefir?

Small Farms Need Our Help

2010-11-21T23:03:00.000-08:00

So hear is the deal our government is once again trying to have control over something that they shouldn't. We have the freedom to kill unborn babies, we have the right to ruin our health through smoking and drinking, we have the right to treat the men and women who have served our country like crap but we do not have the right to grow and produce healthy food on our own land without the government coming in with guns drawn and shutting it down. PLEASE!

I have tried to write this post several times but I am so frustrated by our governments control over our food, that I couldn't do it with out it turning into a book. So please take a look at these other posts that explain it a lot better then I could. Just keep in mind that if the government takes our right to eat and grow what we want then what is left.

http://la.eater.com/archives/2010/11/18/inside_the_rawesome_foods_raid_a_video.php

http://nourishedkitchen.com/farm-raid-fund/

http://www.agriculturesociety.com/?p=6656

Farmeggedon video

Raw Apple Cider Vinegar for a Sore Throat and Stuff

2010-10-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well a lot has happened since my my last post. My family has moved and we have not just moved to a new house or new city but to new state. We now live in Washington. It has been hard to move farther away from family and leave all my gardens in there end of season glory, but we are here and making the best of it. The good news is that where we live has a good selection of grass fed meats and raw milk is legal here, so it has been nice to have these options available to us.

My kitchen has been in slow motion since we moved. Just trying to get unpacked and homeschooling has been a chore not to mention I was sick for the first 3 weeks of being here. There is one thing that I really want to share. Raw apple cider vinegar is awesome. I'm just saying.

As I mentioned I was really sick. Tired, sore throat, cough the works. I tried all kinds of things for my sore throat and nothing would work, I had to take ibuprofen just to sleep. My sister looked up a home remedy for sore throats all it said was to make a drink out of warm water, honey and apple cider vinegar. I kept putting it off because who really likes the taste of vinegar (wimp). Finally after two weeks of putting it off and not being able swallow or sleep I broke down and made the drink. You probably guessed this but I'm going to say it any way IT WORKED. The first time it worked one 8 oz cup and no more sore throat. I couldn't believe it and so I had to share it. To top it off it did not taste that bad at all. So next time you have a sore throat try this.

Ingredient:

8oz warm water
honey (to your taste)
1 TB of raw apple cider vinegar ( I used Bragg's)

What are some of your favorite home remedies?

Here a Can, There a Can, Everywhere a Can Can!

2010-08-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

This is only part of the peaches

Have you guessed I've been canning. 80 pounds of peaches to be exact. Yep I'm crazy. But boy oh boy will those beautiful canned and frozen peaches chase away those winter blues, or at least I hope so after all that work. Anyway, as I was canning I was thinking about last year. I had no idea what I was doing (not that I do now) especially when it came to planning what I wanted to can. So I thought I would share a few very small pieces of wisdom about canning that I have learned in my one year of experience.

First thing is don't be scared it is actually a lot of fun and it is a great satisfaction to know that out of 80 pounds of peaches I have 6 jelly jars of peach syrup, 8 pints of peach salsa, and 8 quarts of sliced peaches, 3 5-gallon bags of sliced frozen peaches as well as 5 small bags of mashed peaches for ice cream all waiting for my family to eat. (This doesn't mention the 3 cobblers and the endless snacks of peaches we have eaten.)

Second: plan, plan, plan. Last year I made so many jams and butters that I still have some. For some reason I thought that canning jams and jellies was a must if you where going to can. Even though they are tasty, my family doesn't eat that much jam, maybe one jar a month or so. So that means that if I wanted homemade jam for my family for the year that would only be 12 jars of jams plus maybe a few for gifts. That means not every fruit that comes into my home needs to become a jam, jelly or butter. This year I really paid attention to what my family ate and about how much. I know that we go through a jar of tomato sauce every 2 weeks. So that means my goal is to can at least 26 cans of sauce. We drink a lot of smoothies so I froze a lot of the fruit that I have gotten in bulk locally.

The third thing I want to say is your local farmers are your best friends in eating raw organic produce for a price you can afford and preserving is the best way to take those in season prices and make them last all year. Eating in season is really the best way to go, it's when the food is the most nutritious and it's when it becomes affordable.

There are different types of preserving (freezing, canning, drying, fermenting, etc.) so do some research and find the best way for you I guarantee that you will love knowing that you have put up healthy, organic food that will make your family happy all winter and it's all with in your budget.

If there is anyone with wisdom for a newbie canner like myself please share.
Happy canning!

These Cookies Are So Good!!!

2010-08-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

Honey chocolate chip cookies

Before I started eating "real food" I loved to bake. I have not stopped loving to bake as much as I am still learning how to adapt and find recipes that are yummy but still not so bad for you. My latest quest is to use honey as my main sweetener. Honey has many benefits one of which is especially important to me and that is that it is found to be easily digested and absorbed by the body. I have blood sugar problems and so I thought I might see if my body reacts better to the honey rather then other sweaters. Here is some information I found at the WHFoods website that explains honey better.

"Experimental evidence indicates that consumption of honey may improve blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity compared to other sweeteners. The body's tolerance to honey is significantly better than to sucrose or glucose alone. Individuals with greater glucose intolerance (e.g., those with mild diabetes and Type 1 diabetes) showed significantly better tolerance to honey than sucrose. In addition, the antioxidants in honey, which have been shown to reduce oxidative stress, frequently by a larger factor than can be explained by their actual amount, may be beneficial for diabetics and help to improve endothelial function (the function of the cells that make up the lining of our blood vessels) and vascular health.

In a year-long animal study comparing the effects of sucrose, honey and a low glycemic index (GI) sugar-free diet, rats on the honey-based diet showed: reduced weight gain and percentage of body fat, decreased anxiety, better spatial recognition memory, improved HDL cholesterol (15-20% higher than rats fed sugar or sucrose diets), improved blood sugar levels (HA1c), and reduced oxidative damage." (whfoods.com)

I made a honey cake from Heavenly Homemakers, that was good you should hop over and give it a try. But I wanted a good cookie recipe so I tried this recipe from cooks.com I tweaked it so that it fit into our life and here it is, some very yummy sort of healthy chocolate chip cookies.

Ingredients:
Pre-heat oven to 375
1 cup butter (you could probably us 1/2 coconut oil depending on how you like your cookie)
1 cup sucanat
1/3 cup honey
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 2/3 cups flour ( I used half white wheat pastry flour and spelt)
1tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz dark chocolate chips

1. Cream butter and sucanat.
2. Add honey and the eggs one at a time.
3. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl then mix into the sugar and butter mixture.
4. Then add the dark chocolate.
5. Drop cookies onto a prepared cookie sheet and cook for 10-12 min.

This recipe does not use honey as it's main sweetener but I will keep looking and tweaking. Do you have any good recipes that uses honey as the sweetener? Please share. Thanks.

This post is part of Monday Mania.

Storing and Grinding Your Own Grain

2010-08-04T21:39:00.000-07:00

We have been grinding our own four since November 2009 and I have had no regrets. There is a few things you need to figure out though with grinding your own flour. One is where do to get your grains. Second what do you do with your 5, 10, or even 25 to 50 pound bag of grain. Third what do you do with the flour after it's ground. Then you get to decide what flour to use for what type of baking, but we will save that one for another post.

Where to get grain:
I get mine from Azure if you have not heard of them you should really check them out. You can buy small bags of wheat berries from Bob's Red Mill or even the bulk bins from places like WinCo but for me Azure had the best price for our family of four and I could get it Organic.

Storing your grain:
Since I have no basement, and a garage that is not handy I was left with my laundry room / pantry to store my grain. I had done my research and knew that the grain needed a cool, dry, and dark place and I had read that you could go to your local donut shop and get FREE 5 gallon food safe buckets. So I called up a donut shop got my free 5 gallon food safe buckets brought them home and started filling them up with my 25 pound bags of wheat. At the time I had hard white wheat, soft white wheat, hard red wheat and oats. If I was thinking straight and not about all this great grain I was going to be making into tasty treats and breads for my family, I would have realized that unless you have a lot of space to store stakes of 5 gallon buckets it's really not going to work. Soooo I put on my thinking cap and started looking at the situation logically. My first thought was a bunch of Ziploc bags, then thinking I wished they had big Ziploc bags, then thinking THEY do have huge Ziploc bags. I was so excited I went to target right away and got one box of the 10 LB bags and another of the 50 LB bags. Then I went to my favorite place to get organizing things IKEA and I got some stackable boxes that you can get into while still stacked(does that make since). I put the bags into the boxes, filled each bag, labeled the boxes stacked them in my pantry and now I have my grain where I can get to it.

Grinding:

The best way for me to grind is to do large batches and then store the flour in the freezer. I think I have mentioned this before but I have to two small children and I don't really have the brain power in this season in my life to do a lot of thinking ahead. So as to not get stuck when it's nap time and wanting to make something but having to grind flour (bye bye nap time). I grind 5 gallon Ziploc bags of flour and keep them in my freezer to lock in the nutrients, save time and keep my sanity . I guess that is thinking ahead a little, maybe I'm getting better.

I hope this was helpful. In another post I will share what I've learned about baking using all whole grain flours.

How do you store your grain?

This post is for Simple Lives Thursday Blog Hop.

My Newest Sewing Projects!

2010-08-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

We are expecting our newest little nephew in about a week, so I decided he needed a blanket. I've made one for each of my other two nephews so he needs one too. My sister trains and loves dogs so I decided that the baby needed a doggy blanket. Here is a picture of how the blanket turned out.

I decided to also make my sister a nursing cover. I got the pattern from here. The only thing I changed was that I lined the back with some thin fleece so it would be softy for the baby and I didn't put the corset bonding in (to lazy).

I enjoy sewing but I am not great or even that good at it, but these two projects show that practice makes better. Because you really should have seen what my other poor nephews ended up with. You should also know that it only took me two nights (after the kids were in bed) to finish both of these projects.I hope that you enjoyed these projects and encourage you to give them a try.

What kinds of projects have you been working on?

Our Garden In July

2010-07-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

I have finally gotten around to posting some pictures of Our Little City Farm. I hope this shows you that you don't have to have a lot of space to have a garden that will provide your family with lots of yummy veggies. We will see come canning season if I can squeeze enough produce to last us through winter. This is the list of veggies that we are currently growing on our little city lot.

Front Yard:

1 semi dwarf apple tree
1 elderberry
1 gooseberry
5 strawberry plants
2 cabbages
4 bush zucchini
2 crook neck
2 bush cucumbers
3 asparagus plants
lots of beets
6 Amish paste tomatoes
4 Roma tomatoes
1 celebrity tomato
1 yellow tomato
1 purple tomato
1 grape tomato
12 peppers (different types)
3 pie pumpkin plants
bush beans
onions
5 basil plants
peas (harvested)
some carrots
some lettuce
lots of different herbs and flowers around the edges

Back Yard:

1 semi dwarf sour cherry tree
2 semi dwarf pear trees
2 low blueberry bushes
2 grape vines
2 types of raspberries
Raised bed of potatoes
5 corn plants
2 summer squash
3 types of winter squash
1 mini water melon
1 mini cantaloupe
3 more strawberry plants
2 sunflower plants
4 chickens with a coop
Lots more herbs and flowers

Just remember you can be very creative in how you fit things into your garden. Notice that I used a lot of bush plants which are also good in pots. Good luck and happy gardening!

What is growing in your garden?

This is a post for Simple Lives Thursday Blog Hop.

One of Those Duh Moments

2010-07-20T11:06:00.000-07:00

Have you ever read something or heard something and thought, that is a really great idea and so simple why didn't I think about that. Well I had one of those moments not to long ago. I was reading an article over at http://grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com/ and thought what a great idea. She cooks her beans in big batches and then freezes them. We have been cutting back on meat to make our grass fed, free range meat last and not break out budget. So this was perfect since beans are really healthy for you and a great source of protein.

I have taken it a step further and I have been doing my rice this way too. Its so simple and it is great for me because I'm not always great at planing ahead and sometimes life calls for last minute prep. You might be thinking that is why we have canned food and instant rice down the street at our local grocery store. You are right but have you read up on BPA or the fact that canned beans have so much salt in them. Or the health benefits to fresh brown rice. Plus the cost is so cheap that even if you buy high end organic beans or rice you end up saving quite a bit of money.

So here it is a cheap, healthy, and fast way to eat your beans and rice.

For the beans:

Before you go to bed stick your beans into your crock pot and fill it with filtered water about 1-2 inches above the beans.

The next morning pour out the water and rinse the beans.

Refill the crock pot with your now rinsed beans and more filtered water about 3-4 inches above the beans.

Turn your crock pot on low and cook for about 6-8 hour depending on the beans.

After the beans are cooked let them cool

I like to dump and rinse the beans one more time, then I fill sandwich bags with about 16 ounces of beans.

Then freeze. I think you could probably lay the beans on a cookie sheet and flash freeze then but I have not tried that yet.
Then when you want a quick dinner or lunch just pull them out of the freezer, heat up and make some bean and cheese burritos.

For the Rice:

Cook your rice like you would for dinner, I use long grain brown rice in my rice attachment on my steamer.

Then let cool and freeze in sandwich bags. I put about 2 cups in each bag.

It is so easy to pull out and heat up for a side dish, breakfast or to but in some soup.

Breaking Free From The Box Part 3

2010-07-20T10:27:00.000-07:00

GRANOLA:
This is what we use for cereal on mornings that we don't even have time to boil oatmeal. I have worked on this granola recipe for about a year to get it the way we likes it. So even though this is our recipe its very adaptable to what your family likes or needs. I am working on a soaked granola and will post that when I'm finished with it. I am learning the value of soaking or sprouting grains and nut, you can read for your self the health benefits here and here.

Ingredients:
6 cups of oats or half oat and half barley oat
2 cups raw almonds
1/2 cup puffed millet
1/2 ground flax or wheat germ
1/2 unsweetened coconut
1/2 dried fruit ( add after cooked)
1 cup heirloom grain flakes
1TB cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup of raw honey or grade B maple syrup*
2 TB melted coconut oil

Pre Heat 350
1. Mix all the dry ingredients
2. Melt the coconut oil in a small pan on the stove
3. Add honey to coconut oil and mix then add the apple sauce and mix again
4. Mix the wet into the dry ingredients. Make sure it is mixed well, be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl.
5. I put mine into a jelly roll pan and stir it every 10 min or so.
6. Cook for 30-40 min.

*At the end I put a little maple syrup on top and mix it in and leave it in the oven while the oven is warm.

Breaking Free From The Box Part 2

2010-07-14T22:30:00.000-07:00

Left Over Oatmeal Pancakes:
So you made some yummy oatmeal but now you have about a cup or two of leftovers and you don't know what to do with them. Well I'm going to give you a couple of suggestions. One is to freeze them into individual servings so on those morning your husband needs to leave early or you need to leave early and you don't want to get up earlier then you have to to fix something lasting and nutritious, you have something ready to go. It also makes a good snack on those days you need a little extra boost. My second suggestion would be to make oatmeal pancakes. These are very good and it doesn't matter what you put into the oatmeal before because it transfers nicely to the pancakes. For example I made peanut butter, banana oatmeal and the next morning I made peanut butter banana pancakes, they tasted great! They do take more time then just the oatmeal so you could either freeze the oatmeal until you have time to make the pancakes or keep in an air tight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Ingredients
3/4 cup oat flour or barley flour (grind 1 cup of oats in blender to make 3/4 cup oat flour)
1 cup Hard white wheat
2 tablespoons sugar (depending on what is in the oatmeal I may not add the sugar)
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 cup cooked oatmeal
1 tablespoon honey or grade B maple syrup
2 large eggs

Mix your dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Mix wet ingredients together including the cooked oatmeal.
Combine all ingredients and let sit for about 5 minutes. This will thicken the batter and allow the wheat to relax.
Makes about 18 small pancakes.

I bet you didn't think it would be that easy did you. Here is some info on the health benefits of oatmeal.

Breaking Free From The Box Part 1

2010-07-09T15:44:00.000-07:00

It has been a year since we have given up boxed cereals. We all love cereal but it has been worth it, I notice that when we buy cereal as a treat every once in a while we are all hungry with in an hour or so. You are probably thinking thats fine for you but I am not about to wake up at 5:00am to feed my family breakfast. Well neither do I, I love my sleep. So Im going to share with you some of my recipes that I use for our breakfasts over the week. Im going to start out with oatmeal who can't cook oatmeal right. I use old fashioned rolled oats and I promise you that it doesn't take over 10 minutes to make.

Here is our favorite way to make oatmeal:

3 cups milk, water, or coconut milk

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

2 tbs peanut butter

3 mashed bananas

1 tbs honey or maple syrup

pinch of salt

Put the oats, salt and liquid into a pot and heat on medium high until it comes to a boil.

Set your timer for 5 min.

After the 5 min take off heat stir in the rest of your ingredience.

serve with milk, a touch more syrup or honey and some chopped nuts.

Another way we like oatmeal is with strawberries:

3 cups milk or coconut milk

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup sliced strawberries divided

1tbs honey or raw sugar

pinch of salt

For this one you put 1/4 the strawberries in with your liquid salt and oats.

Boil for 5 min.

Take off heat and add the rest of the sliced strawberries.

Serve with milk

The oats really take the strawberry flavor. I've tried doing this with peaches but it didn't take on the taste like it did with the strawberries.

For extra nutrition:

Substitute 1/2 the oats with hulled barley oats

Add 1or 2 Tbs of coconut oil

1Tbs ground flax ( I use my blender to grind them, grinding them make it digestible.)
There are many different types of oats you can use each one with it's own benifits. Some times I mix Barley oats with my rolled just to get to extra protein that the barley has. You can check out some different types here.

Yummy Homemade Granola Bars

2010-06-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

I've tried a lot of granola bar recipes since we started this natural eating adventure and these have been by far the closest to the chewy store-bought kind. This has now become a staple in our home with two young kiddos snacks are a must. I have made a few changes to make it a little more healthy but it hasn't changed the taste or the texture. They freeze well so you can make a double or triple batch and have enough for a month.

Thick, Chewy Granola Bars
original from smittenKitchen.com

1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats (if gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free oats)
1/2 to 3/4 cup dehydrated sugar cane (use more for a sweetness like most purchased bars or use less for a mildly sweet bar) I use 1/2 and it tastes sweet to me.
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed until finely ground in a blender, if using flax stick the flax in the blender too.)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 to 3 cups dried fruits, nuts and seeds
1/3 cup peanut butter or another nut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp melted coconut oil or melted butter (sometimes I use half butter half coconut oil)
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp raw honey or grade B maple syrup
1 tbsp water

1. Pre- heat oven to 350 degree's
2. Mix all dry ingredient's together
3. I like to stick the fruits and nuts into the food processor to make them bit size
4. Melt the coconut oil or butter in a sauce pan and melt. As soon as it has almost melted put in the honey and peanut butter stir until combined. *
5. Mix the wet and dry ingredient's together until well combined.
6. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper, or tin foil, use enough so that the liner comes up over the short sides of the pan making a sling.
7. If using tin foil butter the bottom and sides.
8. Put your mixture into the pan and push down using a spatula or plastic rap.
9. Bake in oven for 25 - 30 minutes, the top should be brown.
10. Remove from oven and put onto a cooling rack. Leave the granola bars in the pan for 20 minutes.
11. Use your sling to take the granola bar out of the pan and put them on the cooling rack. Wait until they are cool then use a serrated knife to cut into bars.
12. Store in an air tight container in the frig.

*It has taken me a while to get the hang of working with coconut oil because when it cools down its turns solid again. So for these I melt the coconut oil, honey, and peanut butter in a pan it seems to stabilize the oil. It also makes the bars chewy. Coconut oil melts at 70 degrees so if you use raw honey it's not heating the raw honey so much that it breaks down the minerals. If you are using butter this is not needed.

This Year's Experiment

2010-06-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

I wanted to see just how much food we could grow on our lot. We live on less them 1/8th of an acre and our house takes up a good part of the lot. But even though it's small with some thinking we have managed to fit 4 chickens, 4 semi dwarf fruit trees, 5 types of berries and a whole lot of veggies. Not to leave out many herbs, flowers and a place for my two kidos to play. I'm here to encourage you, even if all you have is a patio, balcany or a small space by your front door there is a way to provide some healthy, fresh and organic produce for yourself and family. Even if its just herbs on your counter or by your front door.

When I was trying to decide what and how much to grow I asked myself some questions:
What do we eat the most?
What do we eat the most of out of the dirty dozen?
What do I want to can and preserve?
Do I really want try cucumbers again? (I have the worst luck with them)

After all those questions were answered I sat down and researched things like:
How many tomato pants I need to grow in order to make salsa, tomato soup, tomato sauce to last until next harvest?
What kind of tomato's are best for these types of recipes?
This is just an example of the research I did on each veggie I wanted to grow. In my mind that is the only good thing about winter it gives me time to figure out what new thing to try in my garden in the spring.

Next I figured out just how much space I had by measuring my spaces and making and drawing a plan of each spot. I used the square foot gardening book to figure out how much space each veggie needed.
In my next post I will show you some pictures of what we did with our small city lot.

You can find a list of what I'm planting and some pictures of our garden here.